News stories from Friday June 25, 1982

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

Alexander Haig resigned as Secretary of State because, he said in a letter to President Reagan, foreign policy had departed from "the careful course" that he and the President had. initially set. Mr. Reagan made the announcement without giving any reasons for Mr. Haig's departure. George P. Shultz, a former Treasury Secretary, was named to succeed Mr. Haig. It was unclear, even to some of Mr. Haig's closest advisers, whether his resignation was at his own initiative or had been forced upon him. [New York Times] Mr. Haig's abrupt resignation followed long-standing animosity between him and the White House staff that recently boiled over into questions of style and substance on Middle East and Soviet policies, White House aides said. The officials said that disputes over the crisis in Lebanon and President Reagan's decision to tighten economic sanctions against the Soviet Union were exacerbated by a multitude of petty disputes that infuriated the presidential staff. [New York Times] Surprise and dismay in Congress was expressed over Mr. Haig's departure. Congressional leaders praised him as a moderate and a professional, but they also approved Mr. Shultz's nomination as Mr. Haig's successor. Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said confirmation hearings could begin next week. [New York Times] Mr. Haig's departure surprised British officials. Mr. Haig had won considerable respect among them for his efforts to seek a peaceful solution in the Falklands conflict. Mr. Haig, according to a diplomat, was regarded in London "as the most pro-European, the most sympathetic and most able of administration officials." [New York Times] Democratic victories in November were anticipated at the opening of a national party conference in Philadelphia, attended by nearly 900 delegates. The Reagan administration was denounced as unfair to the poor, insensitive to the risk of nuclear war and unconcerned about women's rights. Five of the party's prospective presidential candidates addressed the meeting, including former Vice President Walter Mondale. [New York Times] The Columbia's astronauts arrived at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., from the Johnson Space Center in Houston. The two astronauts had to fly above and around thunderstorms for an hour before they could land their jet planes, in which they flew separately. The Columbia's fourth and final test mission is scheduled to start Sunday morning and continue for a week. [New York Times] Aerial pesticide spraying was resumed in California after the discovery of the first fertile Mediterranean fruit fly since November. The discovery was made as farmers were preparing for the summer harvest in the San Joaquin Valley. [New York Times] Non-stop bombardment of west Beirut by Israeli fighter-bombers, warships and artillery aimed Palestinian camps and residential areas was the heaviest since the invasion of Lebanon began on June 6. In the hills to the east, Israeli armored units drove Syrian tanks and troops off the Beirut-Damascus highway up to 16 miles east of the capital. This eliminated any military threat to the Israelis from the rear if they assault the Palestinian positions in west Beirut. [New York Times] The U.N. organized to head off an Israeli invasion of Beirut and to achieve a cease-fire there that may last. Security Council members debated in private a French proposal demanding a limited pullback from Beirut by Israeli and and the P.L.O. The plan would place Lebanese security forces between the two sides. An emergency session of the General Assembly was summoned to isolate Israeli and its chief supporter, the United States. Assembly delegates were ready to vote overwhelmingly for a resolution condemning Israel's invasion. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 803.08 (-7.33, -0.90%)
S&P Composite: 109.14 (-0.69, -0.63%)
Arms Index: 1.39

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	468	9.31
Declines	902	24.87
Unchanged	441	4.56
Total Volume		38.74

* 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*
June 24, 1982	810.41	109.83	55.86
June 23, 1982	813.77	110.14	62.70
June 22, 1982	799.66	108.30	55.29
June 21, 1982	789.95	107.20	50.36
June 18, 1982	788.62	107.28	53.80
June 17, 1982	791.48	107.60	49.23
June 16, 1982	796.90	108.87	56.28
June 15, 1982	801.27	109.69	44.97
June 14, 1982	801.85	109.96	40.10
June 11, 1982	809.74	111.24	68.61