News stories from Thursday February 8, 1979

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

Concern over leaks and conflicts in statements by administration officials has caused President Carter to warn his top advisers to avoid undercutting his policies with offhand comments to reporters. Mr. Carter has told top officials that they should support administration policies fully, once they are made, or resign. [New York Times] Interest refunds from banks may be received by thousands of Americans because they were charged too much, according to federal officials. They said that, because of errors in mathematics resulting in understating interest rates, millions of dollars might be owed by banks to borrowers over the last five years. The government surveyed 4,700 national banks. [New York Times] Adequate therapy for leukemia in children can be given in less time than previously thought, according to doctors who reported evidence from the most extensive study of the disease. Reports from a study of 639 patients showed that the most common form of the ailment could be treated adequately in two and a half years in most patients who respond to drug and radiation therapy. [New York Times] Senator Adlai Stevenson III may seek the 1980 Democratic presidential nomination. He said he was disappointed by President Carter's performance and unimpressed by potential challengers. [New York Times] More than a million Iranians marched through Teheran calling on Prime Minister Bakhtiar to resign in favor of an Islamic government proposed by Ayatollah Khomeini. Dr. Bakhtiar vowed not to be ousted by the Moslem leader, whose programs he denounced as "medieval." Similar, generally peaceful marches were held throughout Iran. [New York Times] A long guerrilla war in Cambodia is foreseen by China, according to Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the former Cambodian ruler. He also quoted Deputy Prime Minister Teng Hsiao-ping to the effect that Peking expected to arm Cambodian guerrillas through Thailand. American analysts have said they believe that Chinese supplies are already reaching Cambodian guerilla forces by way of Thailand, which denies such activity. [New York Times] The administration's China policy was accepted in part by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. It approved, 12 to 1, President Carter's nomination of Leonard Woodcock as the Ambassador to China, but decided to delay seeking full Senate confirmation until legislation guaranteeing Taiwan's security was also passed. [New York Times] American-Nicaraguan military ties are being cut, Washington announced, saying it was ordering home more than half of United States personnel because President Somoza had rejected efforts to mediate civil strife. [New York Times] There are no politically "missing persons" in Mexico, the government said amid allegations of human rights violations there. One group alleges that 426 persons vanished after their arrest by the authorities. [New York Times] The head of Chile's government, Gen. Augusto Pinochet, is said to have personally asked Paraguay to provide false passports for two men eventually charged with the murder of Orlando Letelier, a high official under the Chilean government of the late Dr. Salvador Allende. [New York Times] To prevent disclosure of secret data about American intelligence activity in Latin America, the Justice Department dropped perjury charges against a former executive of I.T.T. The department indicated it would seek legislation to protect such secrets in future trials. The case involved charges about unsuccessful efforts by the corporation to prevent the election of Salvador Allende as President of Chile. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 818.87 (+2.86, +0.35%)
S&P Composite: 97.65 (+0.49, +0.50%)
Arms Index: 0.64

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	887	14.72
Declines	526	5.56
Unchanged	432	3.08
Total Volume		23.36

* 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 7, 1979	816.01	97.16	28.45
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