News stories from Monday March 2, 1981

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

President Reagan called on mayors to help him combat "selfish interest groups" who are challenging his budget-cutting program. He addressed a packed meeting of 4,000 urban executives and administrators at a conference of the National League of Cities. A policy statement by the league' board of directors issued just before the speech reflected a general approval of the program and specific objections to it that Mr. Reagan assailed. [New York Times] A sharp cut in federal employees assigned to New York City, Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago and other major cities is being considered by the Reagan administration, according to a top White House official. He said that the administration's plan to shift federal control of many health and social-service programs to the states would "naturally" diminish the number of federal employees in 10 regional centers. [New York Times] Four charities agreed to return 25 percent of the $4 million that they were granted by an official of the Carter administration to help the poor pay heating bills. In return, the Reagan administration dropped its efforts to recover all the money. [New York Times] A drive to increase nuclear power for generating electricity was signaled by the Reagan administration. Joseph Hendrie, who was dismissed a year ago as chairman of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission for its handling of the accident at the Three Mile Island reactor, has been named acting chairman of the commission. The agency has been under fire for approving only a few new operating licenses. [New York Times] Rural growth is outpacing the cities for the first time since 1820, according to a study of Census Bureau figures from the 1980 population count. In the last decade, non-metropolitan regions grew by 15.4 percent while metropolitan areas grew by only 9.1 percent. In the 1960's, metropolitan areas grew by 17 percent, while non-metropolitan areas grew by only 4.4 percent. [New York Times] Fatal brain cancer is a relatively rare disease, but medical researchers have found an abnormally high number of cases among workers in several American oil refineries and petrochemical plants. Studies have revealed up to twice the expected number of brain cancers or brain tumor deaths in the plants, particularly along the Gulf coast of Texas and Louisiana. [New York Times] A trial on efforts by fundamentalists to open public school classes in California to the teaching of the Biblical doctrine of the Creation opened in Sacramento. The case has been likened to the celebrated 1925 trial in which John Scopes was found guilty of having taught evolution in a high school in Dayton, Tenn. [New York Times] A new centrist party in Britain came into being as 12 Members of Parliament resigned from the Labor Party and said they would vote as Social Democrats. The new group, in the ideological center between Labor and the Conservatives, will be the third-ranking party in the House, edging out the Liberals, who hold 11 seats. [New York Times] The candidacy of France's President in next month's elections was announced in a brief television appearance. President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who stressed that he is the only candidate who stands between France and disaster, faces challenges by a Socialist, Communist and neo-Gaullist. [New York Times] Economic aid for El Salvador of $200 million to $225 million over the next seven months is being considered by the Reagan administration, according to sources close to the negotiations in San Salvador. Citing the country's troubled economy, one negotiator predicted that the Salvadoran government "will fall in six months if it does not get aid."More military aid for El Salvador was announced by the State Department. It said that $25 million worth of additional equipment and 20 more United States non-combat military advisers would join the 25 advisers there. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 977.99 (+3.41, +0.35%)
S&P Composite: 132.01 (+0.74, +0.56%)
Arms Index: 0.63

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	947	30.52
Declines	618	12.48
Unchanged	346	4.71
Total Volume		47.71

* 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 27, 1981	974.58	131.27	53.20
February 26, 1981	966.81	130.10	60.31
February 25, 1981	954.40	128.52	45.71
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