News stories from Wednesday December 16, 1981
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The 1981 session of Congress adjourned after the House approved a bill setting farm price supports for the next four years. The vote was 205 to 203. Earlier, both the House and Senate passed and sent to President Reagan legislation he requested to allocate $11.5 billion in foreign aid. It was the first such legislation approved by Congress in three years. [New York Times]
- Fiscal reforms for Social Security will be considered and recommended by a new 15-member commission announced by President Reagan. Meanwhile, the House gave final congressional approval to a bill to restore the $122-a-month minimum pension benefit for all the retired people who now receive it and for those who become eligible before Jan. 1. [New York Times]
- Extension of the Voting Rights Act in the form approved by the House picked up support. Sixty-one Senators -- 40 Democrats and 21 Republicans -- have co-sponsored a bill identical to the one approved overwhelmingly by the House on Oct. 5. [New York Times]
- Serious questions about the C.I.A. have been raised by the congressional inquiry into the activities of two former members of the agency, according to Representative Edward Boland, the chairman of the House Intelligence committee. Among the questions, according to Mr. Boland, a Massachusetts Democrat, are the C.I.A.'s ability to control businesses it secretly owned and to maintain the security of its operations. [New York Times]
- Abolition of the Energy Department has been approved by President Reagan, according to administration officials. They said that most surviving functions of the partly dismantled department would be transferred to the Commerce Department. [New York Times]
- Collusion on nuclear plant safety may have occurred at the Diablo Canyon facility in southern California, according to officials of the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They said they were investigating the possibility that advance consultation with the utility had compromised the independence of an auditor hired to assess the utility's calculations on whether the plant could withstand an earthquake. [New York Times]
- Key Polish strikes have been broken by the martial law authorities, according to information arriving from Warsaw. The reports also said the Roman Catholic Church had become a powerful voice in opposition to the new measures. Major military movements were reported underway around the country, including a convoy of about 300 vehicles moving along Warsaw's main road. [New York Times]
- The rights gained by Polish workers in last year's negotiations between the authorities and the independent Solidarity union were reaffirmed by the new military rulers. In a broadcast statement, the military council said the accords would not be repudiated even though new arrests were announced and further curbs on civil liberties were decreed. [New York Times]
- Polish diplomats were restricted in the United States in retaliation for limitations on the movement of American diplomats in Poland. [New York Times]
- The resistance of Afghan tribesmen has intensified steadily since the Soviet military intervention two years ago, but it is still disorganized. The insurgency generally involves inconclusive clashes between poorly armed Islamic guerrillas and poorly disciplined Afghan soldiers, bolstered by Soviet air power. [New York Times]
- The breakup of an Arab sabotage plot, linked to Iran, was reported by Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. They announced the arrest of 65 people from various Arab countries in what they asserted was a conspiracy to topple conservative Arab governments. [New York Times]
- The P.L.O. gained recognition as Greece announced it had granted the Palestine Liberation Organization the status of a diplomatic mission. The announcement means that the organization's liaison and information office in Athens will receive diplomatic rights and immunities. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 868.72 (-7.23, -0.83%)
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 15, 1981 | 875.95 | 122.99 | 44.13 |
| December 14, 1981 | 871.48 | 122.78 | 44.81 |
| December 11, 1981 | 886.51 | 124.93 | 45.84 |
| December 10, 1981 | 892.03 | 125.71 | 47.02 |
| December 9, 1981 | 888.22 | 125.48 | 44.80 |
| December 8, 1981 | 881.75 | 124.82 | 45.14 |
| December 7, 1981 | 886.99 | 125.19 | 45.72 |
| December 4, 1981 | 892.69 | 126.26 | 55.04 |
| December 3, 1981 | 883.85 | 125.12 | 43.77 |
| December 2, 1981 | 882.61 | 124.69 | 44.50 |