News stories from Wednesday August 29, 1979

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

Police believe they know the killers of Earl Mountbatten of Burma, according to Ireland's Deputy Prime Minister, George Colley. He said he had "reasonably accurate information" that the assassins were still in the republic, but he added he did not "anticipate people being charged" with the crime immediately.Margaret Thatcher visited Belfast, Northern Ireland, to demonstrate her concern over recent killings by Irish Republican Army terrorists. The British Prime Minister's dramatic visit lasted 7 hours. [New York Times] Charging a "cover-up," Ralph Ulmer resigned as foreman of the federal grand jury investigating an allegation that Carter administration aides were involved in a plan to fix the legal problems of Robert Vesco, the fugitive financier. The foreman charged that the Justice Department was trying to protect White House aides, a charge the department denied. [New York Times] Jeffrey MacDonald was convicted of killing his pregnant wife and two young daughters almost a decade ago when he was a Green Beret captain at Fort Bragg, N.C. Government prosecutors had argued that the defendant, now a 35-year old emergency room surgeon, killed the three members of his family and then inflicted wounds on himself to cover up his role in the crime. [New York Times] The split between blacks and Jews is probably not as deep as has been portrayed, according to Patricia Roberts Harris, the new Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. But Mrs. Harris said she would work for reconciliation between the two groups, recognizing that there was "certainly a disagreement over some issues." [New York Times] A late surge of tourism in the nation is buoying hotels and restaurants, antique shops and roadside stands. While no one would call this tourist season a success, it is not the wholesale disaster it seemed it would be when the gasoline shortage kept millions of travelers off the roads and at home. [New York Times] Ronald Reagan has endorsed Suffolk County Executive John Klein for renomination in both the Republican and Conservative primaries Sept. 11. Mr. Reagan's move is seen as an attempt to win friends and influence among New York Republicans, and it appears to be another signal that the California Republican will wage a major fight for delegates in this previously hostile state. [New York Times] A swift and basic reorganization of the Department of Energy has reportedly been undertaken by Charles Duncan, the new Secretary of Energy. Mr. Duncan is said to be moving to fulfill his mandate of bringing order to the government's most troubled department, and to do that he is apparently depending on aides from the Department of Defense, where he was formerly Deputy Secretary. [New York Times] Amtrak officials eliminated six routes from the system but saved the Montrealer and the Southern Crescent. The steps taken by the board of directors of Amtrak, the national passenger railroad whose stock rose when gasoline supplies dropped, will take effect Oct. 1. [New York Times] The U.S. called on Israel to stop its pre-emptive strikes against southern Lebanon and also demanded that the Palestinian leadership halt its attacks on Israel and withdraw its guerrilla forces from the border area. The call came at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council. [New York Times] The Soviet Union may be prepared to make deep, across-the-board cuts in nuclear and conventional weapons in the next phase of the arms negotiations with the United States, according to Senator Joe Biden, head of a mission of Senators visiting Moscow. The Delaware Democrat said that was his impression after talks with Soviet officials. [New York Times] Alexandr Godunov explained that he defected to the United States "solely for artistic reasons." He made the statement at a press conference where he also said he believed his wife would not have chosen to return to Moscow if he had been able to talk with her. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 884.90 (+0.26, +0.03%)
S&P Composite: 109.02 (0.00, 0.00%)
Arms Index: 0.67

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	715	15.75
Declines	726	10.75
Unchanged	426	4.31
Total Volume		30.81

* 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 28, 1979	884.64	109.02	29.43
August 27, 1979	885.41	109.14	32.06
August 24, 1979	880.20	108.60	32.73
August 23, 1979	880.38	108.63	35.72
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