News stories from Wednesday February 7, 1979

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

The lone holdout in the mistrial of Representative Daniel Flood described as a "joke" a story he told the other jurors, but it was remarkably similar to previously undisclosed information given to federal agents by the chief witness in the trial. According to sources who are closely familiar with the case, federal agents are prepared to begin an immediate investigation of the coincidences. [New York Times] Rosalynn Carter testified in Congress in the first such appearance by a President's wife since Eleanor Roosevelt testified in the 1940's. In seeking support for her mental health proposals, Mrs. Carter was assured of backing from Senator Edward Kennedy. She appeared before a subcommittee headed by the Senator, who termed her appeal "eloquent." [New York Times] In Cleveland's fiscal crisis, the vote scheduled for Feb. 27 on raising the city's income tax has forestalled action by major lenders for payment on overdue notes. But the city now has barely enough money to pay essential expenses. The cash squeeze became apparent as the city treasury's balance became equal to the money committed for vital expenses. [New York Times] Iceberg lettuce production has been cut about one-third by a strike since Jan. 19 in Southern California and Arizona by the United Farm Workers of America. The outcome seems likely to have a major impact on the prices Americans pay for fruits and vegetables for decades to come. [New York Times] A request to end Social Security aid to college students made by President Carter was supported by the General Accounting Office. The congressional investigative agency, after making a study, concluded that the program was poorly designed and expensive, had inequitable provisions and duplicated other aid programs. [New York Times] Prospects for new federal aid to New York City were mixed. Mayor Koch and Governor Carey won a vow from President Carter to do "everything possible" to assure the city of at least $100 million. But at a hearing before the Senate Banking Committee, Mr. Koch and Mr. Carey were told not to expect congressional approval of additional aid and to proceed with deep New York City budget cuts. [New York Times] A heavy storm swirled up the East Coast, dropping up to nine inches of snow in some states and up to six inches in the New York City region. Many schools and colleges were shut, slippery roads caused many accidents and snarled evening rush traffic, airport operations were severely slowed and power lines were snapped. [New York Times] A surge of support for the interim regime proclaimed by Ayatollah Khomeini was reported all over Iran. Peaceful demonstrations against the existing government of Prime Minister Bakhtiar were held in major cities around the country and government employees showed growing reluctance to serve ministers amid signs that the military might be wavering in support of Dr. Bakhtiar. [New York Times] American policy in the Mideast was criticized by Deputy Prime Minister Teng Hsiao-ping of China at a meeting in Japan. He said that failure by Washington to be firm in Iran might encourage Soviet aggression. [New York Times] Israel has suspended some human-rights guarantees "on security grounds" in the occupied Arab territories, while practicing "high standards" inside its own territory, the State Department told Congress in its annual human-rights report. The report said there had apparently been some abuses in treatment of detainees. Israel emphatically denied allegations that Arab prisoners had been tortured. [New York Times] American-Mexican relations require a major reappraisal, in the view of President Jose Lopez Portillo, who will confer in Mexico City next week with President Carter. The Mexican leader said in an interview that a full analysis must be made of every problem dividing the two countries. [New York Times] Britain's labor troubles worsened as 19,000 workers at a Birmingham plant of British Leyland, the country's biggest automotive manufacturer, walked out in a dispute over bonus payments. Workers at other plants of the company, which employs nearly 100,000 people, have also voted to strike. [New York Times] Canada's unity crisis deepened as leaders of the federal government and the 10 provinces ended their latest conference on constitutional reform with little practical agreement. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 816.01 (-6.84, -0.83%)
S&P Composite: 97.16 (-0.89, -0.91%)
Arms Index: 0.99

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	316	5.38
Declines	1,185	20.01
Unchanged	357	3.06
Total Volume		28.45

* in millions of shares

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*
February 6, 1979	822.85	98.05	23.57
February 5, 1979	823.98	98.09	26.49
February 2, 1979	834.63	99.50	25.35
February 1, 1979	840.87	99.96	27.92
January 31, 1979	839.22	99.93	30.33
January 30, 1979	851.78	101.05	26.91
January 29, 1979	855.77	101.55	24.18
January 26, 1979	859.75	101.86	34.24
January 25, 1979	854.64	101.19	31.45
January 24, 1979	846.41	100.16	31.71