News stories from Tuesday December 18, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- "Nonviolent" military action was said to be under serious consideration in Washington if Iran put American hostages on trial or before a tribunal. The administration was seeking the use of naval and air facilities in at least three Indian Ocean countries and sources said that one possible nonviolent military course would be a naval blockade of Iran. [New York Times]
- Continued trials of the Shah's backers are being pressed by the revolutionary Iranian government. Eight former military men are being tried on charges of fatally shooting as many as 6,000 men, women and children on Sept. 8, 1978 while they were demonstrating against the Shah. [New York Times]
- A benchmark oil price of $24 to $25 a barrel, effectively maintaining the current rate, has been recommended by the economic commission of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, according to Venezuela's oil minister. But half the delegates at the organization's ministerial meeting refused to accept the recommendation, and the ministers agreed to meet a third day in an effort to work out a uniform pricing system. [New York Times]
- Aid for Chrysler gained in Congress as the House approved $1.5 billion in federal loan guarantees for the corporation. The 271 to 136 vote cleared the way for action tomorrow in the Senate. There, key supporters of assistance for the nation's third-largest auto maker had delayed acting on a more stringent measure in hopes that House approval of its bill would add momentum in the Senate for the rescue package. [New York Times]
- Americans displayed their flag in an expression of concern for the American hostages in Iran. President Carter proclaimed today National Unity Day and said that showing the flag would be "a most fitting symbol" for demonstrating concern. [New York Times]
- Private financing for national parks is planned by the National Parks Service in place of government funds to replace deteriorating facilities and to make other major improvements. In a plan that requires congressional approval, the service proposed that a private, nonprofit foundation raise money for Yosemite National Park as a prototype for upgrading other parks. The foundation would recover its investment by renting and operating facilities it built on park land. [New York Times]
- Marked gains against organized crime were reported by Justice Department officials. In the last year, they said, they obtained convictions of 134 people in nine major cases, including labor racketeering, interstate theft, sports bribery, cigarette smuggling and income tax evasion. [New York Times]
- No major tax proposals are expected to be made in the budget that President Carter sends to Congress next month, according to administration policy makers. But the administration is considering the imposition of a fee on imported crude oil as a substitute for a gasoline tax increase. [New York Times]
- A bitter dispute at Boston University intensified as the faculty voted to urge the board of trustees to dismiss John Silber, president of the dissension-plagued institution. [New York Times]
- A leading Iranian clergyman was slain along with his two bodyguards by gunmen who escaped on a motorcycle in Teheran. The murder of Mohammed Mofateh, an ally of Ayatollah Khomeini, was similar to several assassinations attributed to a terrorist group that opposes clergymen in politics. Iran's leadership attributed the slaying to the C.I.A., which Washington denied, and the Shah's secret police. [New York Times]
- The Vatican censured a top theologian, the Rev. Hans Kung, and barred the liberal leader from teaching. Father Kung, who is Swiss, is a professor of theology at the University of Tubingen in West Germany and head of its Institute of Ecumenical Research. The Vatican said that some of his works had deviated from the dogma on the infallibility of the church and other basic Roman Catholic beliefs. [New York Times]
- A snag in the Rhodesia peace plan developed as Bishop Abel Muzorewa said he was delaying his return to London for the formal signing of Britain's plan until he received clarification of the cease-fire provisions of the pact. The bishop expressed concern over British concessions that won assent to the pact Monday by leaders of the Patriotic Front guerrillas. [New York Times]
- Pierre Trudeau agreed to lead Canada's Liberal Party in the elections set for Feb. 18. The former Prime Minister put aside his plan to retire from politics and accepted a party draft, which was pressed after the defeat last Thursday of the Progressive Conservative government. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 838.65 (-5.97, -0.71%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| December 17, 1979 | 844.62 | 109.33 | 43.83 |
| December 14, 1979 | 842.75 | 108.92 | 41.82 |
| December 13, 1979 | 836.09 | 107.67 | 36.70 |
| December 12, 1979 | 835.67 | 107.52 | 34.66 |
| December 11, 1979 | 833.70 | 107.49 | 36.16 |
| December 10, 1979 | 833.87 | 107.67 | 32.27 |
| December 7, 1979 | 833.19 | 107.52 | 42.38 |
| December 6, 1979 | 835.07 | 108.00 | 37.51 |
| December 5, 1979 | 828.41 | 107.25 | 39.33 |
| December 4, 1979 | 824.91 | 106.79 | 33.53 |