News stories from Thursday August 16, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Andrew Young said he might have another meeting with a Palestine Liberation Organization representative in his neutral role as president of the Security Council for August. However, a State Department spokesman said that it was expected that Mr. Young would not meet with the P.L.O. Mr. Young also said that he had cautioned the Israelis against making a public protest about his unauthorized contacts with the P.L.O.
Fears of a policy shift by Washington in favor of the Palestinians were expressed by Israeli officials and some American Jewish leaders despite Andrew Young's resignation because of his unauthorized meeting with a Palestinian diplomat. The officials and many black leaders focused their criticism on President Carter.
[New York Times] - Five liberal Democratic Senators face attacks by a conservative group. It said it would soon spend about $700,000 for television, radio and print campaigns against the Senators seeking re-election next year. The targets are Birch Bayh of Indiana, Frank Church of Idaho, Alan Cranston of California, John Culver of Iowa and George McGovern of South Dakota. [New York Times]
- A top energy post for John Sawhill is set, according to Carter administration officials. They said that Mr. Sawhill, a high-ranking energy official in the Nixon and Ford administrations, would become Deputy Secretary of Energy. The economist is now president of New York University. [New York Times]
- The Korean influence buying inquiry ended as the Justice Department, as it had promised, dropped its charges against Tongsun Park, the Korean businessman, in exchange for his return to Washington to testify. The inquiry embarrassed some members of Congress for accepting Mr. Park's money but resulted in the jailing of only one former Representative. [New York Times]
- A major job-discrimination victory was won by black employees of the Detroit Edison Company, one of the nation's largest electric utilities. It agreed to enter a consent decree under which it would pay about $5.3 million as part of a plan for resolving an eight-year legal dispute over its hiring and promotion policies for blacks. [New York Times]
- A loophole in Social Security laws can save big employers millions of dollars a year, but experts warned that the device, though legal, could trim workers' retirement benefits. Under the practice, an employer pays a worker's half of the payroll tax and then lowers his gross pay by that amount. The employer benefits because he pays the 6.13 percent Social Security tax on a slightly lower gross salary. [New York Times]
- Motorists are returning to the roads in increasing numbers in the New York metropolitan area, and some energy officials are concerned that a new gasoline squeeze may develop over the Labor Day weekend. Fuel supplies are now adequate, but with traffic rising the outlook through the end of the month is uncertain. [New York Times]
- Antitrust charges against Carvel were filed by New York state, which accused the corporation and 19 other defendants, including the founder and president, Thomas Carvel, of conspiring to monopolize the sales of soft ice cream and supplies to 400 franchised dealers in the state. The state asked penalties of $1 million against each corporate defendant and $100,000 against each individual. [New York Times]
- Soviet power in the Middle East poses a dire threat to the United States, according to James Schlesinger, the departing Secretary of Energy. Pressing for at least "a rough balance" of East-West military power in the region, he warned in a farewell speech that "Soviet control of the oil tap in the Middle East would mean the end of the world as we have known it." [New York Times]
- Kurdish rebels defeated Iranian forces and overran a town near the Iraqi border after two days of bitter fighting, according to Kurdish sources and press reports in Teheran. The press said that at least 13 people had been killed and about 50 wounded. [New York Times]
- Restoration of civilian rule in Nigeria after 13 years of military control is set for Oct. 1. The government announced that Shehu Shagari, who has long been a familiar figure in Nigerian politics, had been elected President. [New York Times]
- John Diefenbaker died in Ottawa of a heart attack at the age of 83. The former Prime Minister was one of the most colorful and combative figures in Canadian politics. He was serving his 13th term in Parliament. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 884.04 (-1.80, -0.20%)
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* |
| August 15, 1979 | 885.84 | 108.25 | 46.14 |
| August 14, 1979 | 876.71 | 107.52 | 40.91 |
| August 13, 1979 | 875.26 | 107.42 | 41.98 |
| August 10, 1979 | 867.06 | 106.40 | 36.74 |
| August 9, 1979 | 858.28 | 105.49 | 34.63 |
| August 8, 1979 | 863.14 | 105.98 | 44.97 |
| August 7, 1979 | 859.81 | 105.65 | 45.41 |
| August 6, 1979 | 848.55 | 104.30 | 27.19 |
| August 3, 1979 | 846.16 | 104.04 | 28.16 |
| August 2, 1979 | 847.95 | 104.10 | 37.73 |