News stories from Wednesday July 11, 1979

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

President Carter ended talks at Camp David, and was believed to be drafting the energy address he postponed last week. Meanwhile, Secretary of Energy James Schlesinger was reported ready to resign, and while the White House called the reports speculation, it stopped shirt of an outright denial. Friends of Mr. Schlesinger reported he had offered his resignation to Mr. Carter several times in recent months, but it had been refused. They also said he had not renewed his resignation offer within the last week. [New York Times] The U.S. can reduce its oil imports much faster by improving conservation and accelerating the transition to solar energy than by relying on programs to develop synthetic fuels, according to a study by the Harvard Business School. The six-year study of the nation's energy problems will be formally published this month. [New York Times] Skylab plunged back to earth today and disintegrated in a blaze of fireworks over the Indian Ocean, showering debris across the Great Australian desert, one of the world's most remote spots. There were no reports of injuries from the estimated 26 tons of debris as most of it apparently landed in the water.Skylab thundered over Australia and several large, hurtling pieces passed over its port of Esperance. The police in the town said that one large piece of Skylab had continued eastward but that smaller pieces had appeared to explode in the sky overhead. [New York Times] The House passed a bill creating a cabinet-level Department of Education by a vote of 210 to 206 a narrow victory for the Carter administration. The Senate passed similar legislation last April, but there could be a rough battle as Senate and House conferees seek to reconcile broad differences in their bills because of House amendments that include permission for voluntary school prayers. [New York Times] American Airlines denied there was any proof that its maintenance procedures were largely to blame for the crash of one of its DC-10 jumbo jets in Chicago May 25. The company also cited several technical issues it believes should be resolved by the federal Aviation Administration before the nation's grounded fleet of 138 DC-10's is allowed to fly. [New York Times] Senator Herman Talmadge testified under oath before a Senate committee that he had never knowingly converted public or campaign funds to his personal use. The Georgia Democrat said of his former aide and chief accuser, Daniel Minchew, "He lies, he lies, he lies." [New York Times] An Iranian oil pipeline was blown up and a new guerrilla group of Arab Iranians took responsibility for it and other such incidents recently in the southern oilfields of Khuzistan Province. The group vowed to continue attacks on oil facilities until it achieves what it calls the "legitimate" rights of the Arab Iranian population. [New York Times] Endorsement was given the strategic arms treaty by the Joint Chiefs of Staff, but the group said the treaty with the Soviet Union might be a "net loss" unless the United States embarked on greater spending to modernize strategic weapons. [New York Times] President Carter refused to lift sanctions against Zimbabwe Rhodesia at this time. Mr. Carter told Prime Minister Abel Muzorewa at a meeting in Camp David, Md., that before the embargo could be lifted the Salisbury government would have to institute major constitutional and administrative changes. [New York Times] India's Prime Minister was challenged by a motion of no-confidence because his party's Parliamentary majority has been erased by defections. Prime Minister Morarji Desai's ruling Janata Party has lost 46 seats as members resigned in disagreement with party policies. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 843.86 (-6.48, -0.76%)
S&P Composite: 103.64 (-0.56, -0.54%)
Arms Index: 0.96

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	577	12.93
Declines	884	19.05
Unchanged	420	4.67
Total Volume		36.65

* 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 10, 1979	850.34	104.20	39.73
July 9, 1979	852.99	104.47	42.46
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