News stories from Tuesday February 16, 1982

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

A grim choice for G.M. workers was outlined by Douglas Fraser, president of the United Automobile Workers. He said that the union members employed by General Motors faced the probable choice of accepting a sharp rollback in wages and benefits next fall or of calling a strike from a position of tactical weakness. [New York Times] Labor told Vice President Bush that the Reagan administration was practicising "Jonestown economics" with a proposed 1983 budget that "administers economic Kool-Aid to the poor, the deprived and the unemployed." At a meeting with Mr. Bush, Lane Kirkland, president of the A.F.L.-C.I.O., alluded to the mass deaths in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978 of more than 900 followers of the Rev. Jim Jones, who ordered them to drink punch laced with cyanide. [New York Times] Further cuts in gasoline prices in the United States are a near certainty, according to industry analysts. The continuing oversupply of crude oil has already prompted price declines of at least two to three cents a gallon in less than a month. [New York Times] The drive against drug smuggling in the Miami area will be aided by advanced radar planes, Vice President Bush announced. Speaking to an anti-crime group in Miami, Mr. Bush said that a smaller version of the Airborne Warning and Control System aircraft would be used to detect low-flying aircraft that carry marijuana and cocaine from Latin America. [New York Times] A shift on acceptance of free gowns has been decided by Nancy Reagan. Hurt by public criticism of her practice of accepting expensive designer clothes and later giving them to museums, the First Lady is informing designers and the public that she will no longer accept the clothes. [New York Times] Harrison Williams was sentenced to three years in prison and fined $50,000 for his bribery and conspiracy conviction arising from the Justice Department's Abscam investigation into political corruption. If the planned appeal by the Senator from New Jersey fails, he would probably have to serve at least 14 months in prison before being considered for parole, the authorities said. [New York Times] A nuclear plant builder was rebuked by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The federal panel concluded that the Pacific Gas and Electric Company had used preliminary data two years out of date in overseeing the construction of several earthquake-retardant features at the Diablo Canyon reactor in southern California. [New York Times] A reputed leader of the prison revolt at Attica in 1971 must be given a new trial for a 1979 assault conviction, New York state's court of appeals ruled. In a unanimous decision, the court said that the defendant, Herbert X. Blyden, was denied a "fair and impartial" jury because one juror had acknowledged being "up tight" about minorities. [New York Times] President Reagan assured Israel that the United States remained committed to maintaining the Israelis' military superiority over their Arab neighbors and said that no new "requests" had been made to sell military equipment to Jordan. The assurance, made in a letter to Prime Minister Menachem Begin, followed reports quoting Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger and his aides as saying they favored selling advanced weapons to Jordan. [New York Times] Doubts about the Salvadoran army were increasing as the senior United States military commander in Latin America began a three-day visit. The commander, Gen. Wallace Nutting, arrived in San Salvador at a time of rising concern about whether the Salvadoran armed forces can defeat the rebels, even with more United States aid. [New York Times] Polish churchmen were accused in the official press of having smuggled messages from Poles interned under martial law. The Roman Catholic Church's assistance to prisoners and internees includes pastoral visits and distribution of food parcels. [New York Times] A second Turk was arrested in connection with the attempt to assassinate Pope John Paul II last year. The West German authorities said that Omer Ay, a Turkish fugitive sought for right-wing activities, had been seized in Hamburg after he committed a minor traffic violation. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 831.34 (-2.47, -0.30%)
S&P Composite: 114.06 (-0.32, -0.28%)
Arms Index: 0.81

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	505	16.49
Declines	976	25.96
Unchanged	422	6.43
Total Volume		48.88

* 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*
February 12, 1982	833.81	114.38	37.08
February 11, 1982	834.67	114.43	46.62
February 10, 1982	836.66	114.66	46.60
February 9, 1982	830.57	113.68	54.42
February 8, 1982	833.43	114.63	48.50
February 5, 1982	851.03	117.26	53.34
February 4, 1982	847.03	116.42	53.30
February 3, 1982	845.03	116.48	49.56
February 2, 1982	852.55	118.01	45.01
February 1, 1982	851.69	117.78	47.73