News stories from Thursday November 11, 1982

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

Leonid Brezhnev, who died Wednesday at the age of 75, will be buried in Red Square, the Kremlin announced. A four-day mourning period was declared, indicating that the service would take place Monday in what is expected to be the largest funeral in Moscow since the death of Stalin in 1953. There was no announcement of any decision on a successor to Mr. Brezhnev, who held power for 18 years. [New York Times] Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was a canny and careful leader who tried to make his country the military equal of the United States and to promote its global political influence through a policy of detente. [New York Times] Western Europe reacted calmly, almost perfunctorily to the passing of the Soviet leader. Government leaders, officials experienced in Soviet relations and leading commentators indicated they expected no dramatic changes in Soviet policy. [New York Times] President Reagan pledged that his administration would work with the new Soviet leadership to improve relations between the two superpowers. Mr. Reagan also said he had decided that Vice President Bush would lead the American delegation to Mr. Brezhnev's funeral. [New York Times] Three former Presidents who negotiated with Mr. Brezhnev said the Soviet leader's death signaled the end of an era and the beginning of a new, less certain, one. The Presidents recalled Mr. Brezhnev as a formidable adversary, but expressed hopes that the United States could negotiate with his successor. [New York Times] The space shuttle returned to orbit and successfully released the first of two business communications satellites. Four astronauts rode the Columbia into an 184-mile-high orbit and, on their sixth revolution of the earth, ejected the 7,200-pound satellite from the rear of the open cargo bay. The satellite drifted away, fired its rocket and headed for a higher orbit. [New York Times] An administration shift on taxes was suggested by President Reagan. Speaking at a news conference, he said he was seriously considering a gasoline tax increase to finance repairs of highways, bridges and mass transit systems that would create about 300,000 jobs. Also, for the first time, he said he might consider trims in military spending. [New York Times] The panel on Social Security reform agreed that Congress must propose $150 billion to $200 billion in benefit cuts or additional revenue for the federal pension system in the next seven years. But the 15-member bipartisan commission put off the politically delicate question of the best way to produce the funds. [New York Times] A successor to Douglas Fraser as president of the 1.2 million member United Automobile Workers is expected to be chosen tomorrow by the union's political caucus. There are three widely respected candidates with a realistic chance of winning the post for the first time since Walter Reuther consolidated his power in the union in the late 1940's. [New York Times] Lech Walesa will be released within a few days, according to Poland's martial law authorities. They said they were freeing the interned leader of the outlawed trade union Solidarity because Mr. Walesa was "no longer a threat to internal security." On Wednesday, a call by underground Solidarity leaders for a strike and protest was largely ignored. [New York Times] An explosion in Tyre, Lebanon, demolished an Israeli military headquarters building, killing at least 13 Israeli soldiers and wounding 25 others. Some reports said 15 Lebanese and Palestinian civilians also died in the blast. Israeli troops sealed the Israeli-Lebanese border. [New York Times] An Israeli officer contradicted testimony by Defense Minister Ariel Sharon's top aide at an inquiry into the Beirut massacre. The intelligence officer told the inquiry that the aide was informed early on the morning of Sept. 17 that a massacre of Palestinian civilians was underway in two Beirut refugee camps, hours after Christian Phalangist militiamen entered the camps. [New York Times] Menachem Begin flew to New York to start a 10-day American visit that is to include talks with President Reagan next Friday. The Israeli leader will fly to Los Angeles tomorrow. [New York Times] Italy's 42nd postwar government resigned, but, in an unexpected move, President Sandro Pertini refused to accept the resignation. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1054.73 (+10.21, +0.98%)
S&P Composite: 141.76 (+0.60, +0.43%)
Arms Index: 0.78

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	849	42.61
Declines	708	27.72
Unchanged	381	8.08
Total Volume		78.41

* 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*
November 10, 1982	1044.52	141.16	113.24
November 9, 1982	1060.25	143.02	111.23
November 8, 1982	1037.44	140.44	75.22
November 5, 1982	1051.78	142.16	96.55
November 4, 1982	1050.22	141.85	149.38
November 3, 1982	1065.49	142.87	137.01
November 2, 1982	1022.08	137.49	104.77
November 1, 1982	1005.70	135.47	73.52
October 29, 1982	991.72	133.71	74.87
October 28, 1982	990.99	133.59	73.59