News stories from Thursday June 21, 1979

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

A bill to carry out Panama Canal pacts was approved by the House, giving the Carter administration a narrow but important victory. The final vote was 229 to 202, but an earlier vote to recommit the measure to committee lost by only six votes. [New York Times] The truckers' strike widened. Industry officials said that more than 40. percent of major carriers' hauling capability had been shut down by the independents' walkout and fear of violence. President Carter ordered the F.B.I. to help restore order, and the Energy Department charted a plan to cut off the preference that farmers have for diesel oil to free up fuel for truckers.Federal deregulation of trucking would result from a sweeping proposal by President Carter to stimulate greater competition in the industry. Mr. Carter said that lifting 40 years of government rules over the industry would also reduce inflation , and save energy. He praised Senator Edward Kennedy for initiating the idea. [New York Times] Long lines at gasoline stations were commonplace in much of the New York metropolitan area. Many stations were closed because, owners said, they had no more supplies. In New York City and surrounding New York counties, especially long lines developed as some stations remained closed until noon, when new rules took effect allowing them to charge more by pricing fuel by the half gallon.Motorists seemed ready to pay almost any price for gasoline at service stations that were open, and many in New York City and Nassau County paid a dollar or more for a gallon. [New York Times] A halt in spraying marijuana plants with paraquat in Mexican fields has been suggested by federal health officials. Government studies have found that persistent exposure to the herbicide, which is used to kill the plants, can be extremely hazardous to the lungs of smokers. [New York Times] Acquisition of Richard Nixon's estate at San Clemente, Calif., by the government was not suggested to federal officials, they said. Last month, a top aide to the former President said that the estate, improved with more than $700,000 of public funds, had been sold to a private buyer because "the government has shown no interest in accepting the property." [New York Times] Vermont and New Hampshire growth differs markedly. Vermont probably has the strictest controls on development in the country, while New Hampshire has had almost none, and a boom in residential and industrial growth has transformed its southern counties from poor rural areas into bustling suburbs and commercial centers. [New York Times] A smoking curb in Connecticut became law. It bans smoking in retail food stores, parts of health care facilities and restaurants seating more than 75 people, unless the establishments have no-smoking areas. [New York Times] The largest Picasso exhibition ever seen in the United States will be mounted next May by the Museum of Modern Art. The show was made possible by an agreement between the French government and heirs of the artist. The exhibition of more than 700 works in all of Picasso's media will mark the first time that the present building has been devoted entirely to the work of one artist. [New York Times] A change in government in Nicaragua was urged by Secretary of State Vance, who also called for an inter-American peace force to restore order and democracy there. Without mentioning President Somoza by name, Mr. Vance said that the present government must be replaced by "a transitional government of national reconciliation, which would be a clear break with the past."A Nicaraguan rebel air attack failed. A plane tried to bomb the military headquarters of President Somoza, but the bombs fell three miles away. [New York Times] Two men claimed Uganda's presidency as thousands in Kampala protested the dismissal of Yusufu Lule. Mr. Lule, who was succeeded by Godfrey Binaisa, maintained that he gave up only the title of chairman of the National Liberation Front, that he had been coerced by armed men and that he would remain as President unless removed by Uganda's voters. [New York Times] U.S.-Palestinian talks were urged by Crown Prince Fahd of Saudi Arabia. He suggested that such talks with the Palestine Liberation Organization could lead the guerrillas to acknowledge Israel's right to exist. [New York Times] A hijacker surrendered in Ireland after he landed in a second commandeered plane. The hijacker, a Serbian nationalist who is a convicted bomber, seized a New York-to-Chicago airliner Wednesday, freed the passengers unharmed and forced the jetliner to fly him back to New York, where he switched to a longer-range airliner for the flight to Ireland. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 843.64 (+3.81, +0.45%)
S&P Composite: 102.09 (+0.46, +0.45%)
Arms Index: 0.82

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	876	20.83
Declines	566	11.04
Unchanged	451	4.62
Total Volume		36.49

* 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*
June 20, 1979	839.83	101.63	33.79
June 19, 1979	839.40	101.58	30.78
June 18, 1979	839.40	101.56	30.97
June 15, 1979	843.30	102.09	32.93
June 14, 1979	842.34	102.20	37.84
June 13, 1979	842.17	102.31	40.75
June 12, 1979	845.29	102.85	45.44
June 11, 1979	837.58	101.91	28.27
June 8, 1979	835.15	101.49	31.47
June 7, 1979	836.97	101.79	43.38