Voice of America, 00-08-02

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From: The Voice of America <gopher://gopher.voa.gov>

CONTENTS

[01] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)

[02] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

[01] NY ECON WRAP (S&L) BY ELAINE JOHANSON (NEW YORK)

INTRO: U-S stock prices were mixed today (Wednesday), as many technology shares turned negative in late-day selling. VOA correspondent Elaine Johanson reports from New York.

TEXT: The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 80 points, less than one percent, to 10-thousand-687. The Standard and Poor's 500 index, a broader measure of the market, closed just about flat, gaining less than one point. Meanwhile, the technology-weighted Nasdaq composite stumbled, erasing early gains. It dropped 27 points, or three-quarters of one percent. The latest on the U-S economy shows new home sales in June were down a surprising three-point-seven percent declining for the third straight month. And the index of leading economic indicators was unchanged. The new data - suggesting an economic slowdown - spurred hope that another interest rate hike will not be necessary.

[02] WEDNESDAY'S EDITORIALS BY ANDREW GUTHRIE (WASHINGTON)

INTRO: With the Republican Party presidential nominating convention in Philadelphia past its halfway point, newspaper editorial pages across America are filled with reaction to what has transpired so far. The other key topic drawing editorial attention is the turmoil in Israeli politics, as Prime Minister Ehud Barak faces more defections from his shaky coalition. Other commentaries deal with the changing political scene in Mexico, Venezuela's presidential election, and the debate on how to spend the U-S budget surplus, tax cuts or paying off the debt. Now, here is _________ with a closer look and some excerpts, in today's U-S Editorial Digest.

TEXT: The Republican convention is presenting the nation with a much more diversified face than ever before. Minorities are prominent among the speakers, and the entertainers, and controversy on all subjects is virtually nonexistent. However some of the big daily newspapers are still skeptical that this party, long considered the bastion of white, wealthy America, is really changing. The Augusta Chronicle, for one, is inclined to believe that change inevitable.

VOICE: Perhaps ... G-O-P [EDS: Grand Old Party, a nickname for the Republican Party] leaders aren't faking it, but are making a serious effort to pry the rank-and-file away from its closed-minded perspectives. This could mark a historic change for the party ... This new direction ... makes sense both idealistically and pragmatically.

TEXT: Many newspapers are focusing on an emotional speech by retired General Colin Powell, arguably the most popular African-American in the country, in which he called for a renewed commitment to affirmative action programs for minorities. The Detroit Free Press wonders:

VOICE: What's behind the images? What's the commitment beyond winning in November? ... When he accepts the ... nomination ... Governor George Bush will have to address that reality amid all the diverse images Republicans are almost self-consciously displaying at the convention.

TEXT: In New Hampshire, The Manchester Union Leader says of General Powell's speech: "A good man, a bad idea" noting that General Powell's own "success is due to his character and not his skin color" so: ... "why [he] clung to his support for affirmative action ... is puzzling." New Jersey's [Bergen County] Record wonders: "Will talk of diversity die with the election? While the Chicago Tribune is upset that taxpayers are contributing "a cool 13-point-five-million dollars in federal ... money to the convention. "Republicans" the Tribune says "are having a lot of fun on your dime." Tuesday night's endorsement by campaign rival Senator John McCain, was, in the words of the New York Times:

VOICE: ... one of the most tranquilizing keynote addresses in modern convention history ... His generous but obviously unenthusiastic praise of Governor ... Bush was [an] address ... designed to ... perhaps suggest a subtext of "I shall return" if Mr. Bush falters in November.

TEXT: Ohio's Akron Beacon Journal is impressed with the way the Republicans are enjoying themselves outside the actual convention sessions, while Atlanta's Constitution is concerned about another aspect of those parties, that big money from big business is sponsoring them with the implication that political favors are wanted in return. Says The Constitution:

VOICE: The unregulated money flowing to the host committees of both political parties is unprecedented: at least 50-million-dollars to the G-O-P, which is 20-million dollars more than in 1996, and 35-million more to the Democrats, ten-million dollars more than four years ago.

TEXT: The Kansas City [Missouri] Star has high praise for Governor Bush and how he has tailored the convention to his needs.

VOICE: The smooth opening of the . gathering ... was a testimony to the organizational powers and political skills that have left ... Governor ... Bush with a good chance of moving into the White House next January.

TEXT: The day's other favorite topic is the political turmoil in Israel as an aftermath of the Israeli- Palestinian peace talks at Camp David. Honolulu's Star-Bulletin worries:

VOICE: The Israeli-Palestinian peace process seems in greater peril following twin blows to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak in his own parliament. Both developments appeared to be a backlash from [Mr.] Barak's failure to win Yasser Arafat's acceptance of his bold concessions at Camp David. In the first setback ... his party's candidate, Shimon Peres, a former prime minister ... was defeated in the parliamentary election for president ... a stunning upset. ...Later [Mr.] Barak narrowly survived a no-confidence vote, enabling him to retain the prime ministership but with a weakened mandate.

TEXT: The Minneapolis, Minnesota Star Tribune, however, warns against over-reacting to developments in Israel.

VOICE: There is less than meets the eye to the new round of political chaos that has broken out in Israel since the collapse of the Camp David ... summit. ... But the office of president is largely ceremonial in Israel, and the vote is less a statement of national policy than an effort ... to humble and embarrass [Mr.] Barak. ... Despite the much-publicized breakdown at Camp David, however, the Palestinian-Israeli talks are not dead.

TEXT: Charleston's [South Carolina] Post and Courier is upset with President Clinton's remark that he might move the U-S embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

VOICE: ... negotiations over the status of Jerusalem are fraught with danger. Speculation by President Clinton ... may be likened to lighting matches in an oil refinery.

TEXT: Turning to Latin American affairs, The Los Angeles Times is cheering a plan by Mexican President- elect Vicente Fox to overhaul the federal police and prosecutor's offices ... and demilitarize the struggle against drug traffickers, giving the police ultimate authority. Says The L-A Times:

VOICE: These bold proposals respond to a citizenry frustrated by soaring crime and lax application of justice. But knowing what has to be done is one thing and being able to do it is another. ... In the coming months, [Mr.] Fox needs to discuss specifically how he will attempt to curtail drug crime and clean house among the military and police.

TEXT: Elsewhere in the region, today's New York Times is somewhat skeptical about the sweeping re-election victory of Venezuela's president, and former coup leader, Hugo Chavez.

VOICE: The voters ... craving radical change, have reaffirmed their confidence in Hugo Chavez, a president who promises a "peaceful revolution." ... /// OPT /// Mr. Chavez is a former army paratroop colonel who served a jail term after attempting a military coup in 1992. His charisma, identification with the poor and revolutionary rhetoric won him the presidency through the ballot box instead. ... /// END OPT