News stories from Wednesday November 19, 1980

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

Modest optimism about the hostages was expressed by American officials after the speaker of Iran's Parliament announced the first authoritative reaction to Washington's proposals. He said that the United States had accepted "in principle" Teheran's four conditions for ending the hostage crisis, but he reaffirmed that until Iran's demands were met, the Americans would not be freed. [New York Times] Ronald Reagan continued his tour of official Washington, meeting with old allies and old foes and trying to make some new friends who can help his presidency. Senator Edward Kennedy, after conferring with Mr. Reagan for half an hour, said he had requested the meeting to pledge "cooperation" and to stress his concern over budget cuts and arms control efforts. [New York Times] The "New Right" is fearful that Mr. Reagan might be moving too close to the Ford wing of the Republican Party. Hard-core conservative spokesmen expressed concern over indications that top cabinet posts might go to aides of former President Gerald Ford rather than to Reagan loyalists. One spokesman remarked, "Sometimes I wonder how much of a Reaganite Reagan really is." [New York Times] High priority for new arms talks is planned by President-elect Reagan, according to Senator Charles Percy, the incoming chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator Percy said that he would inform Soviet leaders of Mr. Reagan's commitment next week.A "unbridled arms race" was assailed by Chancellor Helmut Schmidt in a New York speech. The West German leader, who is on his way to Washington, said detente with the Soviet Union might be endangered unless progress was made in arms control. [New York Times] The President said that his efforts on behalf of human rights in Latin America constituted a "historic movement" that would outlive the Carter administration. Mr. Carter indirectly urged President-elect Ronald Reagan to continue the campaign. [New York Times] The fatal shootings of four blacks by policemen in New Orleans after the murder of a white patrolman 12 days ago has prompted investigations by Federal, state and local agents, as well as two civil rights groups and a coalition of public-interest organizations. Black residents challenge the police version of the slayings. [New York Times] A "drought emergency" may be set in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware early next month. The way was prepared by the four-state commission that regulates use of water from the Delaware River basin as it cut further New York City's allotment from three reservoirs. Some 22 million people rely on the Delaware basin for water supplies. [New York Times] The "Yorkshire Ripper," a murderer who has brought terror to northern England for the last five years, has claimed his 13th victim. The mutilated body of a 20-year-old college student was found in Leeds, 175 miles north of London. Police sources described her wounds as "horrific." [New York Times] Iraq seeks to topple Iran's regime, according to President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr. A large crowd in a Teheran square cheered the Iranian leader as he vowed never to accede to Iraqi terms for peace, which call for the cession of disputed territory. [New York Times] Israel's government won a vote of confidence in Parliament, 57 to 54, thwarting the opposition Labor Party's hopes of defeating Prime Minister Begin by capitalizing on frustration over the Israeli economy. In the last year, the cost of living rose by 138.4 percent, according to official figures. [New York Times] A sharp split among Roman Catholics in West Germany was dramatized on the last day of the visit there by Pope John Paul II. Leaders of Catholic youth groups, in a statement read at a mass celebrated by the Pope, accused the church of timidity in confronting contemporary issues and assailed its position on such matters as marital life, sexuality, priestly celibacy and the role of women in the church. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 991.04 (-6.91, -0.69%)
S&P Composite: 139.06 (-0.64, -0.46%)
Arms Index: 1.12

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	720	25.60
Declines	897	35.79
Unchanged	379	7.84
Total Volume		69.23

* 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*
November 18, 1980	997.95	139.70	70.38
November 17, 1980	986.26	137.75	50.30
November 14, 1980	986.35	137.15	71.63
November 13, 1980	982.42	136.49	69.33
November 12, 1980	964.93	134.59	58.51
November 11, 1980	944.03	131.26	41.52
November 10, 1980	933.79	129.48	35.72
November 7, 1980	932.42	129.18	40.06
November 6, 1980	935.41	128.91	48.89
November 5, 1980	953.16	131.33	84.29