News stories from Friday May 1, 1981

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

The American economy is stronger because of the current worldwide abundance of crude oil and the conservation of petroleum in the industrialized nations, contrasting sharply with the havoc among Western economies that followed the Iranian revolution two and a half years ago. Government statistics show that plentiful oil is already slowing inflation, aiding economic growth and cutting the American trade deficit to the lowest level in more than five years. The dollar is also growing stronger. [New York Times] Democrats stepped up criticism of President Reagan's economic proposals and lobbying tactics in Congress, asserting that they were gaining ground in the battle that will decide the nation's spending priorities for the coming fiscal year. Their language was the harshest yet expressed by the Democrats against the administration's budget measures. [New York Times] Japan's automakers were angered over the government's agreement to restrict car shipments to the United States. The president of the Toyota Motor Company said the decision was made "with undue haste and insufficient appreciation of the real situation. American consumers and the Japanese economy would suffer, he said.The likelihood of import quotas for Japanese cars lessened following Japan's announcement that it would limit its car shipments to the United States. Satisfaction was expressed by the White House, congressional leaders and the domestic auto industry. But government officials and dealers selling Japanese cars warned that the action could add to inflation through higher auto prices resulting from a reduced Japanese supply. [New York Times] A verdict of guilty was returned by the jury in Senator Harrison Williams' trial in Federal District Court in Brooklyn on bribery and conspiracy charges stemming from the Justice Department's Abscam investigation of political corruption. His co-defendant, Alexander Feinberg, was also found guilty. [New York Times] A lesbian affair with a hairdresser who is suing her for a share of her income and other property was admitted by Billie Jean King, the tennis champion, at a news conference in Los Angeles. Mrs. King said the affair was a "mistake" and that she accepted full "responsibility." [New York Times] 12-caliber shells found at the home of Army Pvt. Joseph Christopher, a suspect in the murders of several black men in Buffalo, matched the shells found at the sites of the four slayings, Buffalo District Attorney Edward Cosgrove said. This evidence, though not made public previously, contributed to an indictment for three murders made by a grand jury Wednesday. However, the person named in the sealed indictment has not been identified. [New York Times] Stopgap aid for Boston was passed by the city council in the form of a $75 million bonding bill that is intended to end a feud that threatens to close schools and push the city into insolvency. It needs Mayor Kevin White's approval, but the city treasurer said the bill was "technically and substantially flawed". [New York Times] Fraudulent American passports obtained by tens of thousands of people yearly are undermining the integrity of the United States passport system, according to State Department security agents. Drug smugglers account for a sharp rise in the number of fraudulently obtained passports, investigators said. [New York Times] Approval of industrial work at home was proposed by Secretary of Labor Raymond Donovan after hearings on the issue in Vermont and Washington. He would make legal the knitted ski wear turned out by women from their homes in Vermont and work at home in six other industries, which was banned 40 years following a crackdown on sweatshops. [New York Times] Secretary of State Alexander Haig flew to Rome to attend a meeting of allied foreign ministers next week. He will discuss their concerns about when the Reagan administration will be ready to start talks with the Soviet Union on limiting medium-range missiles in Europe. [New York Times] Francois Mitterand seems to be ahead of President Valery Giscard d'Estaing in the presidential election on May 10. Two major polls were taken since last Sunday's first round of balloting, one gave 51.5 percent of the vote to Mr. Mitterand, the Socialist leader, and 48.5 percent to the President. The other poll, which was to have published in "Le Figaro", was withheld without explanation by the newspaper, which is strongly in favor of the President. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 995.59 (-2.16, -0.22%)
S&P Composite: 132.72 (-0.09, -0.07%)
Arms Index: 0.78

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	591	18.87
Declines	933	23.15
Unchanged	388	6.34
Total Volume		48.36

* 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*
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
April 24, 1981	1020.35	135.14	59.90
April 23, 1981	1010.27	133.94	64.20
April 22, 1981	1007.02	134.14	60.65
April 21, 1981	1005.94	134.23	60.29
April 20, 1981	1015.94	135.45	51.01
April 16, 1981	1005.58	134.70	52.95