News stories from Friday October 31, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A senior Islamic cleric demanded that Iran's Parliament hasten its deliberations on freeing the hostages. Ayatollah Hussein Ali Montazeri, who has been mentioned as a potential successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, said in a message over the Teheran radio that the members who boycotted Thursday's open session, forcing its postponement until Sunday, were acting in a manner "unacceptable to the Moslem and revolutionary people of Iran." [New York Times]
- Iran appears to be committed to releasing the hostages and to pressing for a favorable vote on freeing them in Parliament on Sunday, administration officials said. Other developments in Iran have aroused new expectation within the administration that the hostages' release might be near, but officials remained wary. [New York Times]
- Iraq said it had started a final drive for the Iranian oil center of Abadan and an Iranian communique said that Iraqi gunners had opened a "murderous assault" on the city. [New York Times]
- President Carter attacked Ronald Reagan and his supporters for what he said was an attempt by them to portray his views as contrary to the teachings of the Bible. Campaigning in Memphis, he criticized some recent religious-oriented television commercials and mailings sponsored in the South by pro-Reagan independent committees. [New York Times]
- Ronald Reagan brought up the issue of Billy Carter while campaigning in Pittsburgh. He had refrained from mentioning the controversy until now. He said President Carter seemed to be "dragging his feet" on a promise to cooperate with a Justice Department investigation of the administration's response to Billy Carter's dealings with Libya. [New York Times]
- Fears that President Carter could lose the South have shaken up Southern Democrats who have been feverishly working for him in the last days of the campaign. Conservative white support for Ronald Reagan has alerted Democrats elected by more moderate, bi-racial political blocs to the possibility that President Carter could lose most of the 139 electoral votes in the 12-state Southern region. Except for Virginia, he carried the South in 1976. [New York Times]
- Ronald Reagan is ahead of President Carter in New Jersey by about 65,000 votes, according to the New Jersey Democratic State Committee, but it is depending on undecided voters to give Mr. Carter a narrow victory in the state Tuesday. However, Republican leaders claim a 100,000 vote lead for Mr. Reagan. [New York Times]
- Stricter regulation of PCB's was ordered by the United States Court of Appeals, which criticized the Environmental Protection Agency for a lack of boldness in protecting the nation from dangerous chemicals. [New York Times]
- The landslide vote in Jamaica Thursday for the new Prime Minister, Edward Seaga, was greater than the early tally had indicated. As the tally neared completion it appeared that the Jamaica Labor Party, which defeated Prime Minister Michael Manley, would win 51 of the 60 seats in Parliament and would claim 53 percent of the popular vote, the highest in the party's history. Drastic changes in economic and foreign policy were foreseen. [New York Times]
- The Polish government promised the independent labor union that it could publish a weekly newspaper and maintain regular access to state-owned television. The concessions, announced by Lech Walesa, the union leader, followed long negotiations between union leaders and the Prime Minister. Meanwhile, lawyers for the union filed an appeal with the Supreme Court on the main issue: to have a court-imposed pledge to respect the "leading role" of the Communist Party stricken from the group's charter. [New York Times]
- South Africa will ease restrictions on blacks now living in urban areas, it says, with a package of legislation that is to be presented to Parliament early next year. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 924.29 (+6.54, +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* |
| October 30, 1980 | 917.75 | 126.29 | 39.06 |
| October 29, 1980 | 929.18 | 127.91 | 37.20 |
| October 28, 1980 | 932.59 | 128.05 | 40.30 |
| October 27, 1980 | 931.74 | 127.88 | 34.44 |
| October 24, 1980 | 943.60 | 129.85 | 41.03 |
| October 23, 1980 | 939.51 | 129.53 | 49.19 |
| October 22, 1980 | 955.12 | 131.92 | 43.06 |
| October 21, 1980 | 954.44 | 131.84 | 51.30 |
| October 20, 1980 | 960.84 | 132.61 | 40.91 |
| October 17, 1980 | 956.14 | 131.52 | 43.96 |