News stories from Monday July 9, 1979

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

Forecasts of more gasoline and other fuels followed the administration's confirmation that Saudi Arabia would "substantially" increase its crude oil production. Administration officials and individuals close to the Saudis estimated that the increase would be one million barrels daily for at least three months. There were "indications," two administration officials said, that the higher rate of 9.5 million barrels daily would be maintained for the rest of the year. [New York Times] Meetings at Camp David continued, and President Carter, encouraged by Saudi Arabia's promise of an increase in oil production, worked to build support among Democratic leaders in Congress for an energy program that his staff is expected to deliver to him tomorrow. [New York Times] The energy crisis worries Mr. Carter more than it does their constituents, many Congressmen said on their return to Washington from a week at home. Senator Robert Byrd, the majority leader, said, after a meeting with Mr. Carter at Camp David, that the lawmakers who met with the President agreed that energy was "a serious problem," but "people must be convinced there is a problem." [New York Times] Skylab's fall is set at noon Wednesday at Ascension Island in the South Atlantic. The announcement from Skylab program officials said that debris from the craft would drop along a 4,000-mile path starting in the southern Indian Ocean, ending in the northern Pacific Ocean, just south of Alaska. [New York Times] Revenue sharing will be eliminated from the next federal budget, according to authorities. This method of sharing federal funds with states and municipalities, which were free to spend the money as they wished, was started in 1972 with the intention of reducing the states' and cities' dependence on Washington for aid. It has been losing support in Washington because it was competing with programs that members of Congress and the bureaucracy can control. [New York Times] William Loeb agreed to settle a suit charging him with pension law violations on terms that will cost him 25 percent of his control of The Manchester Union Leader, a New Hampshire newspaper whose conservative views and vituperative editorials have made it a political power in the state. [New York Times] A decision to let the DC-10's fly has been delayed while the Federal Aviation Administration awaits an analysis of a crack found on an engine mount of a United Airlines plane found during special inspections. [New York Times] The arms treaty was defended in detail by the Carter administration at the start of Senate hearings, arguing that the nation would be safer with the treaty than without it. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance told the Foreign Relations Committee that "we cannot realistically expect to shift the bargain more in our favor." [New York Times] A general amnesty in Iran was declared by Ayatollah Khomeini for "all people who committed offenses under the past regime" except those involved in murder or torture. Some 3,000 political prisoners may be affected by the move. Addressing the nation, the Ayatollah also called on Iranians to support Prime Minister Mehdi Bazargan's government. [New York Times] A Socialist was asked to form a cabinet in Italy to succeed the administration of Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti, but he was not expected to win the support he needs. President Sandro Pertini's request to Bettino Craxi, secretary of the Socialist Party, was seen as a move to expose contradictions in the political parties' positions and to make forming a government easier for the next person to be asked. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 852.99 (+6.83, +0.81%)
S&P Composite: 104.47 (+0.85, +0.82%)
Arms Index: 0.73

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	1,004	27.63
Declines	496	10.02
Unchanged	417	4.81
Total Volume		42.46

* 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*
July 6, 1979	846.16	103.62	38.57
July 5, 1979	835.75	102.43	30.29
July 3, 1979	835.58	102.09	31.67
July 2, 1979	834.04	101.99	32.06
June 29, 1979	841.98	102.91	34.68
June 28, 1979	843.04	102.80	38.47
June 27, 1979	840.52	102.27	36.72
June 26, 1979	837.66	101.66	34.68
June 25, 1979	844.25	102.09	31.30
June 22, 1979	849.10	102.64	36.41