News stories from Friday January 4, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Sharp cuts in grain shipments to the Soviet Union, an embargo on technology sales and a "severe curtailment" of Soviet fishing privileges in American waters were among punitive actions announced by President Carter in response to the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan, which he denounced as an "extremely serious threat to peace." In a televised address, the President said that "a Soviet-occupied Afghanistan threatens both Iran and Pakistan and is a stepping stone to their possible control over the world's oil supplies." He also announced an indefinite delay in the scheduled opening of new American and Soviet consular facilities and a deferral of any new cultural and economic exchanges.
The Soviet Union's food supply will not be immediately affected by the curtailment of American grain shipments, nor will the Soviet Union's ability to provide wheat to its satellites, including Afghanistan. American farmers are expected to feel the brunt of the move. To minimize the impact, President Carter said that grain not delivered to the Soviet Union would be removed from the market by the government through a storage and price support program.
[New York Times] - Talks were begun in the United Nations aimed at building world opinion against the Soviet intervention in Afghanistan. Meanwhile, Afghanistan's deputy permanent representative at the United Nations resigned. Abdul Hakim Tabibi said he would no longer represent his country "because of the violations of the sovereignty and independence of my country by our neighbor, the Soviet Union." [New York Times]
- Afghan rebels continue to resist Soviet troops in remote areas of their country, according to reports received by Western diplomats in New Delhi. [New York Times]
- Car sales dropped 8.1 percent in the final days of 1979, according to reports from the three major manufacturers. It was the worst December and the worst sales year for Detroit since the disastrous slump in 1975. [New York Times]
- The Mormon Church has removed an official, Federal District Judge Marion J. Callister, who is hearing a major test case involving the equal rights amendment, which the church opposes. He had been regional representative of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. [New York Times]
- The government's intervention in a private suit involving the Central Intelligence Agency has been permitted by federal District Judge Oren Lewis to protect "national security interests." The plaintiff, C. Philip Liechty, a former employee of the C.I.A. who was stationed in South Korea in the early 1970's, has charged that the C.I.A. intentionally concealed from the Justice Department its knowledge of South Korean efforts to bribe members of Congress. [New York Times]
- Gerald Ford's name was placed on the ballot for the presidential primary in Massachusetts on March 4. His name was entered by the state's Republican Party, despite his announcement last October that he would not actively seek the Republican nomination. [New York Times]
- A lion was believed to have killed Joy Adamson, a painter and writer on Kenya's wildlife. Among her books was "Born Free," the story about a domesticated lioness named Elsa that she and her husband, George, a former senior warden in the Kenya Game Department, had raised from a cub. She had been mauled "by great claws," a friend said. [New York Times]
- A new American fighter plane would be built only for sale abroad, particularly to third world countries. President Carter, in a significant shift in his position on American arm sales abroad, has agreed to support efforts to build the plane, known as the FX. Among potential buyers are Taiwan, South Korea, Pakistan and Turkey. It would replace the F-5 fighter that has been sold to pro-Western governments. [New York Times]
- Rhodesian guerrillas reported to truce points in greater numbers as the night assembly deadline approached. A spokesman for the British Governor, Lord Soames, said that a total of 10,000 guerrillas had reported 12 hours before the deadline and that they were reporting at the fastest rate since the cease-fire was declared a week ago. But about 7,000 members of the Patriotic Front were still at large. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 828.84 (+8.53, +1.04%)
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* |
| January 3, 1980 | 820.31 | 105.22 | 50.47 |
| January 2, 1980 | 824.57 | 105.76 | 40.61 |
| December 31, 1979 | 838.74 | 107.94 | 31.53 |
| December 28, 1979 | 838.91 | 107.84 | 34.42 |
| December 27, 1979 | 840.10 | 107.96 | 31.40 |
| December 26, 1979 | 838.14 | 107.78 | 24.95 |
| December 24, 1979 | 839.16 | 107.66 | 19.15 |
| December 21, 1979 | 838.91 | 107.59 | 36.16 |
| December 20, 1979 | 843.34 | 108.26 | 40.39 |
| December 19, 1979 | 838.91 | 108.20 | 41.79 |