News stories from Wednesday February 25, 1981

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

More federal tax cuts were ordered by President Reagan after he was informed that his advisers had underestimated federal spending for the fiscal year 1982, which begins next Oct. 1. The White House announced that new reductions of $3 billion to $8 billion must be added to the $41.4 billion in cuts an-nounced on Feb. 18 if the administration is to hold to its goal of a $695.5 billion spending ceiling. [New York Times] Big support for the economic program proposed by President Reagan has been expressed in letters to members of Congress. But the legislators are starting to receive the first expressions of doubt about specific elements of the package, and they expect the criticism to increase as details of the program are disseminated. [New York Times] A major environmental body may die, according to White House officials. They said that top policymakers of the Reagan administration were considering the elimination of the Council on Environmental Quality, the cabinet-level agency. [New York Times] Consumer prices rose last month by seven-tenths of 1 percent, the Labor Department reported. It was the first month since August that inflation has increased by an annual rate of less than 10 percent. The survey was made too early to reflect the big price increases for petroleum products that followed the lifting of remaining controls on Jan. 28, and the consensus of economists was that the report represented a brief slowing in inflation. [New York Times] The Democratic Party won a ruling issued by the Supreme Court. The 6-to-3 decision upheld the party's right, regardless of any conflicting state laws, to refuse to seat delegates to its national convention who were not chosen in compliance with the party's rules. The ruling, in effect, prohibits "crossover" primaries. [New York Times] A Hells Angels club won a long fight with the government. Federal prosecutors had sought since mid-1979 to break up the motorcycle club in Oakland, Calif., on the ground that its members were involved in a criminal conspiracy. Two cases ended in mistrials, and the latest charges were dismissed Wednesday. [New York Times] Jurors who convicted Jean Harris of murder Tuesday recalled in interviews that their eight days of deliberations included re-enactments, role playing, arguments, tears and three secret ballots. Five of the 12 jurors indicated that Mrs. Harris's own testimony helped to convict her and they agreed for the most part that psychiatric testimony might have helped her. Mrs. Harris refused prison food in favor of snacks from friends. [New York Times] State troopers will patrol in Trenton. Governor Byrne announced that troopers would begin aiding the local police in combating violent street crimes and armed robberies at businesses within 10 days. If the experiment, involving about 35 troopers, is successful, it is to be extended to other high-crime areas in New Jersey's cities. [New York Times] Embassy security is being increased by the Reagan administration, according to testimony before Congress. A top official said that the administration was "urgently upgrading" security at two dozen diplomatic missions where there was a "high threat" of attack by mobs or terrorists. [New York Times] A dispatch of 150 U.S. military advisers to El Salvador was backed by Senator Howard Baker, the majority leader. After meeting with President Reagan, Mr. Baker said that non-combat advisers were being considered to help the Salvadoran government in its fight against left-wing insurgents. The administration has made no final decision. [New York Times] New military aid to Israel is planned by the Reagan administration to help offset the planned sale of equipment to upgrade Saudi Arabia's F-15 warplanes, according to Capitol Hill sources. They said that Israel was expected to be offered 15 additional F-15's at preferential financing terms. [New York Times] A new government in Spain was endorsed by Parliament a day after a military rebellion collapsed. The legislators hailed Prime Minister Leopoldo Calvo-Sotelo and gave a long, standing ovation for King Juan Carlos, who was credited with halting the revolt and freeing them from captivity in Parliament. Evidence mounted that a number of senior officers were implicated in the abortive plot. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 954.40 (+8.30, +0.88%)
S&P Composite: 128.52 (+1.13, +0.89%)
Arms Index: 0.62

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	756	26.25
Declines	719	15.46
Unchanged	405	4.00
Total Volume		45.71

* 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*
February 24, 1981	946.10	127.39	43.96
February 23, 1981	945.23	127.35	39.59
February 20, 1981	936.09	126.58	41.90
February 19, 1981	933.36	126.61	41.64
February 18, 1981	947.10	128.48	40.42
February 17, 1981	939.68	127.81	37.94
February 13, 1981	931.57	126.98	33.36
February 12, 1981	936.60	127.48	34.71
February 11, 1981	942.49	128.24	37.79
February 10, 1981	948.63	129.24	40.81