News stories from Friday August 3, 1979
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A slowdown in the economy was indicated by employment statistics released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Layoffs increased in manufacturing, especially in the automobile industry. "The labor market data are not telling us we are seriously into a downswing," Dr. Janet Norwood, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, said, but "they do tell us clearly there is a slowdown in the economy." [New York Times]
- Chrysler was rebuffed by union leaders who rejected a wage freeze proposed by the financially troubled corporation. Chrysler had asked for a two-year freeze on wages and benefits for about 124,000 employees who are members of the United Automobile Workers union. However, the union has scheduled a meeting with Chrysler next Thursday to discuss what financial relief the union could provide. [New York Times]
- Congress was rebuked by Vice President Mondale for starting its August recess without making "adequate progress" on President Carter's proposed energy legislation. [New York Times]
- Attempts to ban reporters from courts have been frequent since the Supreme Court ruled July 2 that the press and the public have no constitutional right of access to pretrial hearings. More than 30 attempts have been made recently by defense lawyers to keep reporters out of criminal proceedings, and 18 were successful. It also appears that judges are extending the Court's ruling beyond pretrial hearings and are excluding the press and public from trials. [New York Times]
- Joseph Califano issued warnings against Paraquat spray and the drug Darvon on his last day in office as Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare. He said the cautionary label on Darvon, approved by the Federal Drug Administration last Monday, was not sufficiently strong. He also released the contents of a message from him to Secretary of State Cyrus Vance, stating his opposition to United States subsidies for the herbicide Paraquat, used in Mexico to spray marijuana fields. [New York Times]
- Engine failure apparently caused Thurman Munson's private jet to crash near Canton, Ohio, Thursday, a federal air safety investigator said. He also suggested that the Yankee catcher might not have been able to escape because his head struck an object in the cabin when the twin-engine Cessna Citation struck the ground. [New York Times]
- The most cash ever stolen from a bank in New York City was taken in a $500,000 robbery at a Bankers Trust branch in Rockefeller Center. It was one of eight bank robberies during the day. Shots were exchanged at Broadway and 39th Street following a robbery at a Chemical Bank branch there, leaving a police officer and the robber seriously wounded. The Federal Bureau of Investigation said bank robberies are numerous on Fridays, probably because it is payday at many businesses. Last Friday, according to the F.B.I., 14 banks in the city were robbed. [New York Times]
- Britain's recognition of Zimbabwe Rhodesia and its removal of sanctions might not be forthcoming unless the Salisbury Constitution is amended, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher indicated in a speech at a meeting of Commonwealth leaders in Lusaka, Zambia. Mrs. Thatcher said that "it is clearly wrong" that the government of Bishop Abel Muzorewa "should not have adequate control over certain senior appointments." She also said it was "a valid criticism" that the Constitution under which Bishop Muzorewa rules was defective in certain important respects. [New York Times]
- Seismic surveys of China's possibly vast offshore oil reserves will be made by American and other foreign oil companies. China has nearly completed the negotiations for the surveys and at least 10 American companies have signed contracts with Peking in the last few months. [New York Times]
- Thousands of Nicaraguans marched through capital city of Managua to show their support for their country's new revolutionary government. The procession of more than 50,000 chanting people was organized by the new leaders to discourage counter-revolutionary forces. [New York Times]
- The lack of a reference to Jews astonished members of an American presidential commission when they examined the plaque at the Soviet monument in Babi Yar, near Kiev, commemorating the Nazi slaughter of 70,000 Jews in a 10-day period in 1941. The plaque describes the victims only as "more than 100,000 citizens of Kiev," The commission is preparing plans for an American memorial to the Holocaust. [New York Times]
- The administration is committed "to a secure and permanent Israel," Vice President Mondale said in remarks broadcast by Israeli television aimed at easing concern among Israelis and American Jews about that commitment. Mr. Mondale also said that the administration's policy toward the Palestine Liberation Organization "remains unchanged." [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 846.16 (-1.79, -0.21%)
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* |
| August 2, 1979 | 847.95 | 104.10 | 37.73 |
| August 1, 1979 | 850.34 | 104.17 | 36.57 |
| July 31, 1979 | 846.42 | 103.81 | 34.38 |
| July 30, 1979 | 838.74 | 103.15 | 28.64 |
| July 27, 1979 | 839.76 | 103.10 | 27.77 |
| July 26, 1979 | 839.76 | 103.10 | 32.28 |
| July 25, 1979 | 839.51 | 103.08 | 34.89 |
| July 24, 1979 | 829.78 | 101.97 | 29.69 |
| July 23, 1979 | 825.51 | 101.59 | 26.86 |
| July 20, 1979 | 828.07 | 101.82 | 26.37 |