News stories from Thursday January 17, 1980

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

Washington will act alone in announcing a formal ban on all commerce with Iran, except the sale of food and medicines, within several days. A senior State Department official said that no allies were ready to take similar action now. Several allied officials contend that an embargo will not help free the American hostages and may lead to a halt in Iran's oil exports to allied countries.An Iranian leader accused Moscow of seeking to split up Iran and push on to the Indian Ocean. The criticism was made by the Finance Minister, Abol-hassan Bani-Sadr, who is a leading presidential candidate. Keeping the Persian Gulf area free of foreign intervention, either from the East or the West, is reportedly sought by Iraq in consultations with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Several Iraqi officials stressed that Baghdad was deeply concerned over what it considered the threat of an American-Soviet confrontation in the region. [New York Times] The expulsion of American reporters from Afghanistan was ordered by Kabul's Soviet-backed government. Tass, the official Soviet press agency, quoted the Afghan leadership as having accused the Americans of spreading "slander" and also said that Kabul had expressed criticism about the reporting of correspondents from other Western countries. [New York Times] Shifting the Olympics from Moscow next summer is a move that would be backed by Britain in reprisal for the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announced. [New York Times] Pakistan dismissed a U.S. aid offer of $400 million as "peanuts." In doing so, President Mohammed Zia ul-Haq declined to specify how much American aid he sought in response to the Soviet threat in Afghanistan. He stressed to American reporters Pakistan's need for "moral help" and said that his country wanted no American bases or substantial American military forces as were present in the 1950's. [New York Times] More blacks favor President Carter in his overall performance in office than oppose it, according to a national poll sponsored by the first major black commercial polling organization. But that narrow margin of support was accompanied by widespread criticism of what Mr. Carter was doing to help blacks specifically, suggesting a view that he has failed to fulfill his promises to blacks, who overwhelmingly supported him in 1976. [New York Times] Jimmy Carter's backers are steadfast in the Democratic precinct of Le Mars, Iowa. They rallied around the candidate five years ago when he was virtually unknown and they are strongly supporting him again. The Democratic workers still have a deep faith in the Kennedy tradition but they are doubtful about Senator Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts. [New York Times] An inclination to blame the flight crew for a harrowing 34,000-foot dive of an airliner over Michigan last April was indicated by the National Transportation Safety Board. The Trans World Airlines jet, carrying 89 people on a flight from New York to Minneapolis-St. Paul, performed two 360-degree rolls and plunged to 5,000 feet above earth before the pilot was able to regain control. [New York Times] press curbs are backed by about four persons in 10, according to a national Gallup Poll. Speakers at a First Amendment Congress sponsored by press groups said that too much power was concentrated in too few hands and that politics was covered superficially. [New York Times] A minor earthquake shook Peekskill, N.Y, and the nearby Indian Point nuclear facility, but apparently caused no damage. Seismologists said it was the most severe quake in the vicinity of the power plant since it began operation in 1962. [New York Times] Concern over President Tito's health was expressed privately by Yugoslav leaders for the first time after his doctors reported a worsening of the condition of his left leg, which was operated on unsuccessfully Sunday. The brief announcement heightened speculation that another operation, perhaps amputation, might be necessary to relieve what has been described as a circulation blockage. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 863.57 (-1.62, -0.19%)
S&P Composite: 110.70 (-0.35, -0.32%)
Arms Index: 0.87

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	661	23.43
Declines	850	26.25
Unchanged	372	4.49
Total Volume		54.17

* 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*
January 16, 1980	865.19	111.05	67.75
January 15, 1980	868.60	111.14	52.37
January 14, 1980	863.57	110.38	52.94
January 11, 1980	858.53	109.92	52.89
January 10, 1980	858.96	109.89	55.98
January 9, 1980	850.09	109.05	65.24
January 8, 1980	851.71	108.95	53.38
January 7, 1980	832.00	106.81	44.50
January 4, 1980	828.84	106.52	39.16
January 3, 1980	820.31	105.22	50.47