News stories from Thursday December 3, 1981

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

An accord on a major spending bill to finance the government for most of the 1982 fiscal year was tentatively agreed upon by White House officials and Republican congressional leaders. David Stockman, the federal budget director, said of President Reagan, "He said he wanted to meet them halfway and we'll say this looks like it." [New York Times] A plot on President Reagan's life was confirmed by top federal law enforcement officials. They said they had evidence that five terrorists trained in Libya entered the United States last weekend with plans to assassinate Mr. Reagan or other senior administration officials. The officers said that a huge nationwide search was under way for the terrorists and anyone who might help them. [New York Times] The identity of a White House lawyer in the Richard Allen case was still being sought. The White House said it had not been able to learn the name of the lawyer who, according to Mr. Allen, advised him that he did not have to list some clients on his financial disclosure forms. Mr. Allen has said he does not recall which lawyer gave him the advice. [New York Times] The White House Conference on Aging closed with relative calm after four days of sharp infighting between proponents and opponents of the Reagan administration's economic policies. The conference adopted a 60-page agenda calling for a continuing high level of government support for the elderly. [New York Times] The risk of developing lung cancer, even among cigarette smokers, is less among men who ate large amounts of carrots, spinach, tomatoes and other vegetables that contain beta-carotene, according to a 19-year study. The new study is the latest in a series showing that a diet high in beta-carotene contributes to a more than 40 percent chance of decreasing that risk, according to a spokesman for the National Cancer Institute. [New York Times] A new meeting site for young singles is the health club, which one fitness center manager calls "the singles bars of the 80's." For example, hundreds of young men and women flock to a health spa in Los Angeles most evenings, and many crowd a co-educational whirlpool tub. [New York Times] Plans for the Sinai peacekeeping force were pressed by the United States and Israel. They issued a joint statement in Washington governing participation in the projected force that American officials said should clear the way for four Western European nations to take part. But final Israeli acceptance of the formula appeared to be in doubt. [New York Times] Rising guerrilla attacks in Guatemala have led many Guatemalans to agree that a civil war has begun. American officials believe that the government is in control, but that it is in trouble and needs military aid. Officials say that the outcome will depend mainly on which side is chosen by the Guatemalan Indian majority. [New York Times] A move to break a U.N. stalemate was initiated by Secretary General Kurt Waldheim, who said he would not compete in further Security Council voting on his post. The tactic was designed to introduce new candidates for consideration. If none is successful, aides to the Austrian diplomat said, he will be receptive to an offer to remain when his current term expires. [New York Times] Andrei Sakharov and Yelena Bonner, after a decade together at the heart of the human rights struggle in the Soviet Union, have never before been so alone, sequestered in a drab apartment in the sealed city of Gorky. The physicist and his wife have been on a hunger strike for 12 days in support of a Moscow woman who has been barred from emigrating. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 883.85 (+1.24, +0.14%)
S&P Composite: 125.12 (+0.43, +0.34%)
Arms Index: 0.54

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	741	23.65
Declines	774	13.27
Unchanged	446	6.85
Total Volume		43.77

* 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*
December 2, 1981	882.61	124.69	44.50
December 1, 1981	890.22	126.10	53.99
November 30, 1981	888.98	126.35	47.57
November 27, 1981	885.94	125.09	32.77
November 25, 1981	878.14	124.05	58.57
November 24, 1981	870.24	123.51	53.37
November 23, 1981	851.79	121.60	45.27
November 20, 1981	852.93	121.71	52.01
November 19, 1981	844.75	120.71	48.72
November 18, 1981	844.06	120.26	49.98