News stories from Monday May 11, 1981
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Trims in some Social Security benefits are proposed in a package approved by President Reagan and scheduled to be submitted to Congress tomorrow. The proposals are designed to preserve the solvency of the system and to reduce Social Security tax increases that are set to take effect in the next several years. The minimum benefit for people retiring at age 62 would be reduced to 55 percent of the benefit due on retirement at the age of 65. The current benefit is 80 percent. [New York Times]
- The path for the tax cuts proposed by President Reagan was kept open by the Senate, which rejected a provision that would have prevented enactment of his requested three-year reduction in personal income taxes. The defeated provision would have accommodated a tax cut of only $21.4 billion, instead of the $54 billion reduction envisioned by the administration. [New York Times]
- Rising bitterness over budget cutting erupted in the House Agriculture Committee, where conservatives, after trying for years, won a vote barring strikers from the food stamp program. A Democrats and Republicans accused each other of improper tactics, the committee took the unusual step of voiding two close votes and agreeing to try again Tuesday. [New York Times]
- A dramatic change in rural America is reflected in detailed findings of the 1980 census. There are now two distinct rural Americas, a declining one based on the family farm and an emerging one based on manufacturing jobs exported from the cities. The turning point from overall rural decline to rural growth occurred in 1970, and by 1980 rural areas in every region were growing. [New York Times]
- A new campaign by John Anderson is in prospect. The former Republican Representative from Illinois, who polled 5.7 million votes as an independent presidential candidate in November, is moving toward forming a new political party that could field candidates in 1982 and mount another drive for the White House in 1984. [New York Times]
- Blackjack players who memorize cards to keep track of those already dealt cannot be barred from Atlantic City casinos, under a unanimous ruling by a New Jersey appellate court. The decision upheld the argument by Kenneth Uston -- who said he had used such skills -- that the Resorts International casino had discriminated in evicting him in 1979. [New York Times]
- The accused slayer of three men in Buffalo pleaded not guilty and said he wanted to conduct his own defense. The defendant, Pvt. Joseph Christopher, is white, and the three victims were black. A state Supreme Court justice appointed two lawyers hired by the private's family to advise him. [New York Times]
- Financial turmoil gripped France after the election of Francois Mitterrand as the first Socialist President since Charles de Gaulle founded the Fifth Republic in 1958. Securities prices tumbled, the franc came under heavy speculative pressure, the price of gold soared, and the goverment sent additional customs officers to airports and frontier crossings to prevent any smuggling of valuables to foreign havens. [New York Times]
- American-French amity was stressed by President Reagan in a message congratulating Francois Mitterrand for his victory in France's presidential election. Mr. Reagan said he looked forward to working with the Socialist leader, but he expressed concern about the possibility of Communists being invited to join the government. [New York Times]
- A curb on military aid to El Salvador was approved by an 11-to-1 vote in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The provision would require President Reagan to certify that the Salvadoran government was making "significant progress" in carrying out civic, economic and political reforms. [New York Times]
- Israeli military planes were poised April 30 to attack the three Syrian missile batteries then in Lebanon, Prime Minister Menachem Begin disclosed to Parliament. He said that a raid was postponed three times over four hours because of bad weather and was canceled the next day only because the United States appealed for time to negotiate a solution. Mr. Begin said there were now five Syrian missile batteries in Lebanon and nine others just over the Syrian border. [New York Times]
- Closer British-West German links were sought in talks between Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Chancellor Helmut Schmidt. Both delegations reflected a sense of excitement and apprehension at the prospect of a basic shift in Western European politics, with France moving left and West Germany appearing to move right. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 963.44 (-12.96, -1.33%)
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 8, 1981 | 976.40 | 131.66 | 41.85 |
| May 7, 1981 | 978.39 | 131.67 | 42.59 |
| May 6, 1981 | 973.34 | 130.78 | 47.10 |
| May 5, 1981 | 972.44 | 130.32 | 48.99 |
| May 4, 1981 | 979.11 | 130.67 | 40.66 |
| May 1, 1981 | 995.59 | 132.72 | 48.35 |
| April 30, 1981 | 997.75 | 132.81 | 47.96 |
| April 29, 1981 | 1004.32 | 133.05 | 53.34 |
| April 28, 1981 | 1016.93 | 134.33 | 58.21 |
| April 27, 1981 | 1024.05 | 135.48 | 51.08 |