News stories from Tuesday May 25, 1982

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

Increased lead in regular gasoline has been approved by the Environmental Protection Agency. The agency has advised oil companies that they are in effect free to increase the lead content by nearly 10 percent above the posted limit. The new policy was disclosed by an auto safety group founded by Ralph Nader. [New York Times] Increased state and local taxes have been widely imposed this year in an effort to compensate for revenue losses prompted by the national recession and, to a lesser degree, federal budget reductions. The increases, enacted in at least 25 states and many municipalities and counties, have been accompanied in nearly every case and on every level by reductions in public services. [New York Times] A balanced budget plan offered by conservatives that called for severe reductions in social programs was rejected by a 242-182 vote in the House. Meanwhile, intense maneuvering continued over three alternative budget plans. [New York Times] President Reagan took his fight with congressional Democrats to California, accusing them of being "proponents of negativism." Mr. Reagan, in remarks prepared for a $1,000-a-plate Republican fundraising dinner in Los Angeles, continued his strongly worded attacks on the budget stand of House Speaker Tip O'Neill of Massachusetts. [New York Times] Reapportionment in Georgia was the focus of a deepening dispute. State officials appealed to the Chief Justice to overturn a ruling by a three-judge federal court in Washington that ordered a delay in elections to fill Georgia's 10 congressional seats until the court decided whether a new redistricting plan discriminates against blacks in the Atlanta area. [New York Times] John W. Hinckley once followed Jodie Foster around with a pistol, according to Dr. Thomas Goldman, a defense psychiatrist. He testified that the defendant had trailed 10 or 15 feet behind the 19-year-old actress on the Yale University campus with a pistol in his pocket in the fall of 1980, and said that Mr. Hinckley "not only loved her, he hated her." [New York Times] The likelihood of a British victory in the Falklands conflict was suggested by Secretary of State Alexander Haig. He asserted that "the British appear to be in a position to bring the war to an early conclusion" and urged the British to be "magnanimous in victory." Administration officials said that Washington had begun to supply the British with war materiel, and a senior Pentagon spokesman warned Moscow not to interfere in the conflict. [New York Times] Argentina appealed repeatedly for a negotiated peace in the Falklands war with the help of Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar. As the United Nations Security Council ended a fifth day of debate on the conflict, Britain called on Argentina to remove its troops from the islands. [New York Times] A British destroyer was hit and severly damaged by Argentine fighter-bombers in the latest attack against Royal Navy ships off the Falklands, British officials reported. They said the destroyer, a sister ship of the lost destroyer Sheffield, appeared to be sinking and added that a major rescue operation was underway after a series of heavy strikes. [New York Times] The Pope is to arrive in Britain Friday for a five-and-a-half-day visit marked by open-air masses and ecumenical ceremonies in England, Scotland and Wales. It will be the first time that a Pope has ever been in Britain. Militant Protestants plan to protest the visit by John Paul II, but concede that they are reluctant to create a divisive image in the midst of British unity over the Falkland war. [New York Times] Iraq conceded an Iranian victory, announcing that its forces had retreated from the Iranian port city of Khurramshahr in the face of major Iranian attacks. [New York Times] Iran's rout of Iraqi forces is a major threat to the stability of Persian Gulf countries, in the opinion of Reagan administration officials. They expressed frustration over the administration's inability to bring about an end to the Iranian-Iraqi war and expressed doubt that Islamic and third-world intermediaries would have any success either. [New York Times] Israeli jets downed two Syrian MiG's over Lebanon in a dogfight that erupted during an Israeli reconnaissance mission, according to military officials in Jerusalem. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 834.57 (-1.81, -0.22%)
S&P Composite: 114.40 (-0.39, -0.34%)
Arms Index: 1.51

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	681	14.08
Declines	730	22.73
Unchanged	482	7.20
Total Volume		44.01

* 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*
May 24, 1982	836.38	114.79	38.51
May 21, 1982	835.90	114.89	45.26
May 20, 1982	832.48	114.59	48.33
May 19, 1982	835.90	114.89	48.87
May 18, 1982	840.85	115.84	48.96
May 17, 1982	845.32	116.71	45.57
May 14, 1982	857.78	118.01	49.90
May 13, 1982	859.11	118.22	58.22
May 12, 1982	865.77	119.17	59.21
May 11, 1982	865.87	119.42	54.67