News stories from Tuesday September 23, 1980

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

Iraq and Iran bombed oil installations on each other's territory and Iraq said its ground forces had invaded Iran at several points. The Iraqi attacks centered on Abadan, the site of one of the world's largest oil refineries, and the oil and gas storage tanks there were re-portedly set afire by bombs and shells. Iraq said that its troops had surrounded Abadan and a nearby Iranian port and Iranian planes attacked Baghdad. [New York Times] Higher food prices fueled inflation and caused the Consumer Price Index to resume its upward trend in August. The increase was seven-tenths of 1 percent, or 8.6 percent on a projected annual basis, and officials said that a further rise in September was likely. This might enable President Carter's challengers to charge that double-digit inflation had resumed. [New York Times] Campaign bitterness mounted as President Carter asserted that Ronald Reagan's election as President could lead to war and Mr. Reagan called the charge "beneath decency." Carter aides want to stress concern that Mr. Reagan could get the country into a war while Reagan aides seek to stress that Mr. Carter's tactics are nasty. John Anderson, the independent candidate, accused the President of using "scare tactics." [New York Times] Ronald Reagan's judgment was questioned again by President Carter, even as an aide was terming a previous remark an "overstatement." Mr. Carter said that Mr. Reagan's repeatedly calling for the use of American troops abroad was "disturbing." [New York Times] The United States will not intervene in any way in the Iraqi-Iranian conflict, President Carter pledged. He called on the Soviet Union and all other countries to do the same. Mr. Carter hinted that the release of the American hostages could lead to a resumption of American military supplies to Iran. [New York Times] A halt in Soviet arms supplies to Iraq was formally requested by Iran. Moscow assured Teheran only that it would remain neutral in the Persian Gulf conflict, but an Iraqi mission to Moscow was apparently rebuffed in a quest for more weapons. [New York Times] Doubts over the Army's capability to fight a long war were expressed in interviews with scores of officers and enlisted men. The chances of stemming an enemy onslaught for a few days or weeks are generally rated as good, but there is wide concern about sustaining attacks for a longer time. The Soviet Army outnumbers the United States Army by more than 2 to 1 and Moscow has many more weapons. [New York Times] New refugee relocation plans were an-nounced by the White House. It said that an old Army base in Puerto Rico would be reopened to house refugees arriving from Cuba and Haiti and that some of those already on the mainland would be sent to the base. Several hundred seriously retarded or mentally ill refugees are also to be transferred to institutions on the island or the mainland. [New York Times] A fund to clean up toxic waste was ap-proved in the House by a vote of 351 to 23. The legislation would create a $1.2 billion fund to clean up hazardous sites, such as the one in the Love Canal area of Niagara Falls, N.Y. [New York Times] Alleged police brutality in Chicago, which has stirred a rising controversy, led Mayor Jane Byrne to create a six-member civilian panel to conduct preliminary investigations.An unusual plan to parole a killer was bitterly protested by about 500 police officers in a demonstration outside the Bergen County Courthouse in Hackensack, N.J. Inside, a state judge began proceedings that would permit parole of the convicted slayer of two police officers after the judge orders the convict to make financial restitution to their survivors. [New York Times] Support for nuclear power was reflected in a special referendum in Maine. In a record turnout, the voters rejected by a substantial margin a measure that would have closed the only nuclear power plant in the state and banned the construction of new ones. [New York Times] An ex-Soviet official was not executed after his conviction for spying and is still alive in a Soviet prison, his lawyer disclosed. The former official, whose unmasking as an American spy is under investigation by a Senate committee staff, was sentenced to death after a military trial in Moscow, but the lawyer said that the sentence was commuted to 15 years in prison. [New York Times] Indira Gandhi's regime can jail people for a year without trial under an executive order that took effect in India. Opposition parties assailed the measure as a revival of a controversial security act that was previously used by Prime Minister Gandhi. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 962.03 (-12.54, -1.29%)
S&P Composite: 129.43 (-0.97, -0.74%)
Arms Index: 0.96

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	491	18.41
Declines	1,153	41.44
Unchanged	308	4.54
Total Volume		64.39

* 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*
September 22, 1980	974.57	130.40	53.14
September 19, 1980	963.74	129.25	53.74
September 18, 1980	956.48	128.40	63.39
September 17, 1980	961.26	128.87	63.99
September 16, 1980	945.90	126.74	57.28
September 15, 1980	937.63	125.67	44.63
September 12, 1980	936.52	125.54	47.18
September 11, 1980	941.30	125.66	44.77
September 10, 1980	938.48	124.81	51.45
September 9, 1980	934.73	124.07	44.46