News stories from Thursday August 23, 1979

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

A decision to resume nuclear licensing was criticized by members of a presidential panel investigating the accident at the Three Mile Island power plant. Only a day after deciding that the process should resume, a top official of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission reversed himself. He told the panel that he would not begin the approval process for new reactors in New Jersey and Virginia until the matter had been decided by members of the regulatory commission. [New York Times] The escape of 30 prisoners from a state prison led Maryland authorities to open an inquiry and a leader of the prison guards' union to blame the break on a shortage of corrections officers. A massive police hunt returned 20 of the fugitives to custody. [New York Times] A priest was absolved of robbery charges after another man, who had admitted being involved in holdups in northern Delaware, pleaded guilty to three of them. [New York Times] Reservations about President Carter were expressed by residents of Hannibal, Mo., as he toured the Middle America town during his Mississippi voyage. The welcoming crowds fell far short of predictions, and many of those interviewed later declined to promise they would support him in 1980. They expressed major concern over inflation, economic burdens and the gasoline shortage that severely cut business in Hannibal last month.Defense of President Carter's cruise aboard a Mississippi riverboat was offered by White House aides in reaction to editorial criticism that he was an absentee President. Jody Powell, his press secretary, said that, despite reports of Mr. Carter's leisurely activities, "he was involved" in the nation's problems "to the extent that he needed to be involved." [New York Times] Chicano-Vietnamese fights in Denver have raised questions about how an American city can handle racial tension between minority groups. Chicanos have been increasingly hostile to the refugees, and there were outbreaks of violence this week. Despite Denver's booming economy, the Mayor has complained to the White House about what he terms a lack of coordination in Vietnamese resettlement efforts and a drain on local finances. [New York Times] Possible U.S. arms sales to Iran are being discussed by the two governments, Pentagon officials disclosed, but they said that little progress had been made because of divisions and confusion about responsibilities in the Iranian regime.Kurds battled Iranian forces as the government sought to dislodge 2,000 rebellious tribesmen in its drive to crush an uprising. Government aircraft pounded rebel positions in the town of Saqqiz for the second day, but the Kurds continued to hold it. [New York Times] Egypt and Israel disagreed over a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that calls for "sovereignty" for Palestinians. During a Council debate, Egypt contended that the draft would "develop and build upon" a key 1967 Council resolution involving Middle East peace, but Israel said that the 1967 resolution "is a carefully balanced whole" and that "any tampering with it can only gravely jeopardize the current peace process." [New York Times] A successor to Andrew Young as American delegate to the United Nations is expected to be named soon by President Carter, administration officials said. There was speculation whether he would appoint another prominent black to the post. [New York Times] A leading Soviet dancer has defected to the United States, government officials said, adding that Aleksandr Godunov of the Bolshoi Ballet had been granted asylum in this country for at least a year. Mr. Godunov, who had been performing with his troupe at Lincoln Center's State Theater, sent word to the New York Times that he wanted to work with choreographers in the United States. [New York Times] An India-Pakistan nuclear arms race is expected by officials in Washington despite efforts by the United States and other countries to prevent such a competition. India detonated what it called a "peaceful nuclear device" five years ago, and it became known last year that Pakistan was quietly acquiring the ability to produce bomb-grade, enriched uranium. [New York Times] South Africa's influence-buying scandal took a new turn as Eschel Rhoodie, its central figure, was returned to Johannesburg from France under armed guard. The former official faces trial on charges of misappropriating part of a $75 million secret fund used to seek support in the United States and elsewhere for South Africa's racial policies. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 880.38 (-5.46, -0.62%)
S&P Composite: 108.63 (-0.36, -0.33%)
Arms Index: 0.79

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	632	14.92
Declines	839	15.63
Unchanged	404	5.16
Total Volume		35.71

* 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*
August 22, 1979	885.84	108.99	38.45
August 21, 1979	886.01	108.91	38.86
August 20, 1979	886.52	108.83	32.30
August 17, 1979	883.36	108.30	31.63
August 16, 1979	884.04	108.09	47.01
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