News stories from Friday June 5, 1981

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

Ernest Lefever withdrew from consideration for the post of Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights after the Senate Foreign Relations Committee's 13-4 vote to recommend that the Senate reject his nomination. In a letter to President Reagan asking that his name be withdrawn, Mr. Lefever said he was "blameless of the charges and innuendoes against my integrity and my compassion." [New York Times] The small rise in producer prices last month provided more evidence that inflation was slowing down. The increase of just four-tenths of 1 percent was half that of April and was the smallest so far this year. [New York Times] The nation's unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent in May, as against 7.3 percent the month before, representing what Labor Department officials called the first significant increase in a year. The increase indicated sluggishness in the economy after a period of moderate growth. But economists said that they expected no significant decline this year. [New York Times] Coal miners will vote on whether to end their eight-week national strike. But whatever the outcome, the future of the United Mine Workers of America as a strong union remains in question. The coal industry is looking ahead to a boom, but the miners' union fears that it may not share in that boom. [New York Times] An Atlanta man held for 12 hours for questioning on Wednesday by law enforcement agents was kept under surveillance. But the authorities refrained from charging him in any of 28 murders of young blacks. [New York Times] Mass deportation hearings against newly arrived Haitians have begun in Miami, with officials of the Immigration and Naturalization Service processing 35 cases a day in locked courtrooms from which private attorneys have been barred. After receiving complaints about the unusual procedures, the Justice Department said it would direct the authorities in Miami to hold the hearings in open court. [New York Times] Preliminary arms discussions between the United States and the Soviet Union have been agreed upon, according to administration officials. The purpose of the discussions, which are slated to begin in Washington this month and continue through the summer, is to pave the way for negotiations in September between Secretary of State Alexander Haig and Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko concerning limitation of each side's medium-range nuclear missiles in Europe. [New York Times] Lifting China's trade restrictions has been proposed by the Reagan administration, which would also like to hold extensive talks on possible military sales to Peking. The restrictions had been imposed because it was a Communist country. The thrust of the administration's decisions, one official said, was "to treat China as a friendly less-developed country and no longer as a member of the international Communist conspiracy. [New York Times] Four anti-Communist dissidents in Poland were ordered released from jail by the Warsaw court, which set their trial on charges of committing acts against the state for June 15. The court's order followed a widespread campaign for their release, and appeared to represent an attempt by authorities to calm political tensions that are rising over a new strike threat. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 993.79 (+7.05, +0.71%)
S&P Composite: 132.22 (+1.26, +0.96%)
Arms Index: 0.49

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	897	31.84
Declines	617	10.79
Unchanged	391	4.55
Total Volume		47.18

* 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*
June 4, 1981	986.74	130.96	48.94
June 3, 1981	989.71	130.71	54.70
June 2, 1981	987.48	130.62	53.93
June 1, 1981	997.96	132.41	62.16
May 29, 1981	991.75	132.59	51.58
May 28, 1981	994.25	133.45	59.50
May 27, 1981	993.14	133.77	58.73
May 26, 1981	983.96	132.77	42.76
May 22, 1981	971.72	131.33	40.70
May 21, 1981	976.59	131.75	46.79