News stories from Monday September 21, 1981
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A warning on new budget reductions was conveyed to President Reagan by Republican congressional leaders at a White House meeting. They predicted that Congress would defeat Mr. Reagan's plan for $16 billion in additional cuts and expressed fear that if the issue were pressed, the Republicans could lose seats in the 1982 congressional elections. [New York Times]
- Prime lending rates were reduced another notch by a number of leading banks. Analysts predicted that most other major banks would follow suit, lowering the rate to 19½ percent from 20 percent. Some bankers cited indications that a recession might have begun and predicted that interest rates would decline further. [New York Times]
- Sandra Day O'Connor was confirmed by the Senate as the first woman to be a Supreme Court Justice. The unanimous approval of the 51-year-old Arizona judge was such a foregone conclusion that the Senate chamber was nearly deserted for most of the four hours set aside for debate. One Senator, Max Baucus of Montana, was out of town and did not vote. [New York Times]
- Payments to the former hostages in Iran were recommended to President Reagan by a special commission. The panel suggested that each of the 52 Americans receive $12.50 a day for the 444 days in captivity. In addition to the proposed tax-exempt payment of $5,550 apiece, the commission recommended unlimited medical benefits for those suffering disabilities arising from detention. An attorney for some of the former captives has suggested payments of $1,000 each for every day of captivity. [New York Times]
- New rules specifying welfare cuts were issued by Richard Schweiker, the Secretary of Health and Human Services. He said that the rules would end benefits for about 10 percent of those receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children and save $1.1 billion in the coming year. [New York Times]
- A test on Social Security changes among Democratic Senators is planned. Senator Bob Dole said that he would schedule a meeting of the Senate Finance Committee this week and take an informal poll on 15 possible revisions before retreating to a minimum stopgap bill that appears to be acceptable to Democrats as well as Republicans. [New York Times]
- Atlanta prosecutors won a victory as a county judge denied a request by Wayne Williams, a music promoter, for separate trials in the murder of two young black men. The judge also refused to suppress evidence gathered by law enforcement officials near a bridge over the river from which the bodies of both victims were later recovered. [New York Times]
- The conversion of spent nuclear fuel from power plants into pure plutonium, for nuclear weapons is sought in controversial experiments being conducted by American scientists. They are trying to develop a method for using powerful lasers to separate the plutonium from other elements present in nuclear wastes. [New York Times]
- Lawyers for Jean Harris urged that her murder conviction be reversed on the ground that eight legal errors had been committed at her trial. Mrs. Harris is serving a sentence of 15 years to life in prison for the slaying of Dr. Herman Tarnower. [New York Times]
- Moscow stepped up warnings to Poles by giving wide publicity to an open letter from Soviet workers that invoked the Soviet and Polish governments' obligations under the Warsaw Pact to defend Communism "against any encroachment." Meanwhile, Pravda alluded to the situation in Czechoslovakia in 1968 and in Hungary in 1956, when Soviet troops crushed efforts for liberalization.
Polish union locals defied Moscow, characterizing a warning letter issued last week as interference in Poland's internal affairs. A Polish official said that the union was becoming a political opposition.
[New York Times] - The U.S. rebuffed third world pleas for a large increase in aid from the industrialized countries. In a policy address before the United Nations General Assembly, Secretary of State Alexander Haig termed the appeals "simply unrealistic." He urged the developing nations to rely for development on free markets, private initiative and foreign capital. [New York Times]
- The execution of 45 more Iranians was reported in Teheran as the Islamic authorities continued a purge of leftist opponents. At least 192 dissidents have been put to death in two days. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 846.56 (+10.37, +1.24%)
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 18, 1981 | 836.19 | 116.25 | 47.34 |
| September 17, 1981 | 840.09 | 117.15 | 48.29 |
| September 16, 1981 | 851.60 | 118.87 | 43.62 |
| September 15, 1981 | 858.35 | 119.77 | 38.58 |
| September 14, 1981 | 866.15 | 120.66 | 34.04 |
| September 11, 1981 | 872.81 | 121.61 | 42.16 |
| September 10, 1981 | 862.44 | 120.14 | 47.40 |
| September 9, 1981 | 853.68 | 118.40 | 43.90 |
| September 8, 1981 | 851.12 | 117.98 | 47.33 |
| September 4, 1981 | 861.68 | 120.07 | 42.75 |