2- The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, October 29, 1997 NATION/WORLD Dow rebounds on da ofd bargins The Washington Post Stock prices on Wall Street came roar- ing back yesterday, in a dramatic day of trading marked by wild swings in prices, record-shattering volume and a rush by investors to buy stocks at bargain prices. Yesterday's 337-point gain by the Dow Jones industrial average was the .jrgest in history, wiping out nearly two-thirds of Monday's record losses. In percentage terms, it was a more mod- est 4.7 percent gain - still a relief to traders who had feared another free fall. Wall Street's rebound came at the end bf a global trading day when most of the " world's markets had been buckled by heavy selling pressure. The U.S. markets' resilience may halt, at least for the moment, the wave of panic selling that began last week in Asia and has been ::everberating on world markets since. The abrupt turnaround in sentiment in ,he United States sparked a relief rally in } ,early trading overseas. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock index jumped 2.77 percent in the first half hour of trading Wednesday morning. Analysts expected selling pres- sure to ease in other markets, too. AROUND THE NATI K Clinton urges crackdown on schools CHICAGO _ President Clinton yesterday firmly called on all public schools to end the "social promotion" of poorly perform- ing students, even as his conflict with Congress over voluntary national education standards neared a turning point. Clinton endorsed a pioneering program under which the city of Chicago has tested tens of thousands of students for promo- tion and held back unprecedented numbers who failed to meet academic standards. At the same time, Clinton directed the Education Department to help other school districts replicate another cornerstone of the Chicago reform: aggressive intervention by local school offi- Clinton cials to seize control of failing schools. "I want what is happening in Chicago to happen all over America,' Clinton said in an appearance at an elementary school here. "I challenge every school district to adopt high standards, to abolish social promotion, to move aggressively to help students make the grade through tutoring and summer schools, and to hold schools accountable for results...." Clinton's embrace of the Chicago reforms sharpened lines in a dispute over education standards setting him against both liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans. AP PHOTO Traders celebrate a comeback day on Wall Street outside the New York Stock Exchange after the close of trading yesterday. The stock market roared back yesterday from its worst drop since the 1987 crash with a record-breaking point gain. As Americans woke yesterday, televi- sion and radio carried the ominous news that Hong Kong's stock market was down nearly 14 percent, Tokyo's was down 4.3 percent and London's was down as much as 9 percent. So great was the apprehension that Wall Street would see a similar blood bath that when the opening bell sound- ed at 9:30 a.m., there was a massive Hong Kong's stock market plummets HONG KONG - Panic selling sent Hong Kong stocks crashing to their biggest point loss ever yesterday, with the blue chip Hang Seng Index losing 13.7 percent of its value and triggering another global market sell-off felt throughout Asia and Europe. The Hang Seng closed 1,438 points down, after massive selling sent the index crashing through the 10,000-point barrier, ending the day at 9,059. It was the worst day yet in a series of sharp market declines that have sent the Hang Seng down an incredible 45 percent since its August peak. "It's a nightmare;' said David Robinson, vice president of Sofaer Capital, a local x .hedge fund. "It's basically bears - stampeding bears. Everything in the whole (expletive) world is down. I've been creamed today. I've been crucified." With the local market in turmoil -- and some personal fortunes now at risk of ,bging wiped out - all eyes here turned to Hong Kong's wealthiest tycoons, the ,property barons, as anxious investors waited to see whether and when the local bil- libnaires would decide the market had dropped far enough to begin buying up dis- counted shares. trading imbalance. So many people were trying to sell and so few wanting to buy that trading in many stocks couldn't open. The Dow industrials plunged 189 points, falling through the 7,000 mark. "The opening wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, it (was) worse," said Bob Fagenson, a 27-year member of the New York Stock Exchange. STOCKS Continued from Page 1 OK." However, Martinez said he is not completely confident that his stocks will continue to be stable. "If it keeps falling, then I'll worry," Martinez said. Some students who invest in the stock market found a bright side to Wall Street's drop. "Every time the market drops, I see it as a good time to buy," said LSA senior Perry Ballard. "But I'm still holding out for the Fed to raise the interest rates." The crash "did not have a tremen- dous effect" because his portfolio con- tained stocks of many small companies, Ballard said. "The 500 points is for some of the larger companies," Ballard said. The dramatic decrease in the Then, at 10:30 a.m., IBM announced that it would spend as much as S3.5 billion to buy back its own stock, which had fallen 15 per- cent in price in recent days. The con- fident move by the giant computer maker - backed by a chorus of Wall Street strategists recommending that clients get back into stocks - firmed the tone of the market. value of stocks in Hong Kong and the Southeast Asian economy was one of the major causes of the mar- ket crash. "Hong Kong had some problems with the exchange rate," Nimalendran said. "I don't think anybody in the U.S. expected this to happen." The Dow's drop Monday triggered two circuit breakers on the New York Stock Exchange that had never been set off since they were installed after the 1987 crash. The first circuit breaker, at 350 points, closed the market for 30 minutes. The second, at 550 points, halted trading for the day. Nimalendran said that while the stock market's future cannot be predict- ed, it is inevitable that "there will be a lot of volatility." -The Associated Press contributed to this report. Brain may trigger religious response NEW ORLEANS - No one knows why humanity felt its first religious stirrings, but researchers at University of California at San Diego, reported yesterday that the human brain may be hard-wired to hear the voice of heaven, in what researchers said was the first effort to directly address the neural basis of religious expression. In an experiment with patients suf- fering from an unusual form of epilep- sy, researchers at the UC San Diego brain and perception laboratory deter- mined that the parts of the brain's tem- poral lobe - which the scientists quickly dubbed the "God module" - may affect how intensely a person responds to religious beliefs. People suffering this type of seizure have reported mystical and religious expe- riences as part of their attacks but are pre- occupied with mystical thoughts between seizures. That led this team to use these patients as a way of investigating the rela- tionship between the physical structure of the brain and spiritual experiences. In an experiment, researchers deter- mined that patients' seizures strength- ened involuntary response to religious words. Congress abandonO border drug plans WASHINGTON - An ambitious proposal to enlist 10,000 U.S. soldiers in the war against drugs on the Southwest border has died a quiet death on Capitol Hill, the victim of continu- ing disagreement over whether the Pentagon should have any role in fight- ing the Mexican narcotic cartels. The proposal, which twice won o whelming support in the House, was never embraced by the Senate. It was stricken late last week from a conference committee report agreed to by Senate and House negotiators on the 1998 defense authorization bill. Yesterday, the House passed the bill without the amendment to vastly increase the U.S. military presence on the border. AROUND THE L ,.MILLER iContinued from Page 1 lion. "That's really just basic repairs on a building that hasn't been touched in 60 years,' Muir said. Bollinger also said he wants to put Money into renovating all the campus libraries because they were overlooked by the campaign's fundraising efforts. "These are our commons;' Bollinger said. "They don't fall within the pervue of any particular school, and I think that as a university, we need to pay special attention to them." University Planner Fred Mayer said advancement in computer technology, as well as normal wear and tear, make the campus libraries good candidates for renovation. "Any building that has been sitting around and has been used as much as the libraries needs renovation," Mayer said, adding that the Harlan Hatcher Graduate Library is in particular dire straits and hasn't been refurbished since the early 1970s. CHINA Continued from Page 1 China's energy shortages could become critical as its economy grows over the next decade, and the government plans already to invest billions in new generating capacity. China has been a net importer of petroleum since 1993, a gap that seems certain to grow as the coun- try's 1.2 billion people spend part of their rising incomes on automobiles. At pre- sent, only about 3 million automobiles circulate in the country. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and other officials have been telling the Chinese that as their need for oil rises, so will their interest in politi- cal stability in the Persian Gulf and Caspian Sea regions. The United States has charged that Chinese sales of weapons technology to Iran and else- where is a destabilizing influence. SeciaI Progranms pt In Ur ia 2 854-2-2K3 New Yor, a semester or two at Columbia mig e-mail: ssp-advis@columbia edu. summer9& (211854-2820 You just missed our best summerever-ut it's not too early to plan for 1998! Bulletin available I February '98-reserve yours today. Call us, or ; e-mail: summersession@columbia.edu. -j Whatever your reasons for wantingdto study in ht be just perfect for what you have in mind. Call us, or Studv Abroad - Columbia University in Paris . Berlin Consortium for German Studies " Summer Program in Italy (Scandiano) . Summer Program in Beijing. Call today, or e-mail: studyaway@columbia.edu. CI7I-iZ15-2559- .41,,ALIL n" "We all face a common danger from Iran in terms of their potential develop- ment of missiles," Albright said yester- day in an interview with Washington Post editors and reporters. "In terms of China, in terms of being dependent for their energy supply on that region, that potentially is dangerous." Chinese restraint on proliferation, in turn, is expected to lead Clinton to cer- tify that China is no longer supplying nuclear technology to Iran. By issuing that certification, the president would clear the way for U.S. nuclear power reactors to compete in the Chinese mar- ket, potentially reducing the trade deficit as well as increasing China's interdependence with the United States, a cherished administration goal. The Clinton administration has been lobbied by the American nuclear power industry to allow sales to China, poten- tially bringing billions of dollars to U.S. nuclear firms. "The Chinese very much want to have access to U.S. nuclear technology, which is still the safest in the world," a senior administration official said yesterday. China has been purchasing nuclear equip- ment from France, Russia and Canada, but officials believe China would prefer U.S. technology if it were available. Because Chinese cities and industrial areas are suffocating in some of the world's most polluted air and will need to burn still more coal to produce more electric power, Jiang has agreed to an energy and environmental partnership, to be signed this afternoon, that could lead to increased U.S. sales of non-pol- luting energy-generating equipment, senior officials said. "What's already destined to happen is a massive increase in the consump- tion of coal," a senior administration official said. "Their scientists have understood where this is heading." Energy Secretary Federico Pena and Chinese officials will sign today an agreement to activate an energy and environmental partnership proposed by Vice President Gore when he was in Beijing in March. Under the partnership, the United States will seek to persuade the Chinese to purchase U.S.-made pollution control equipment, energy efficiency technology and clean-burning coal-fired generators. l ii ,V7 Mexican ambassador to improve relations MEXICO CITY - An economist who belongs to a prominent Mexican political family was sworn in as ambas- sador to the United States on yesterday and vowed to improve prickly relations with the U.S. Congress. Jesus Reyes Heroles, 45, a former energy minister, also declared that his government would spend more money to help Mexican migrants in the United States. "The policy is to intensify the efforts to protect our countrymen," he told reporters. Reyes Heroles takes on Mexico's most important ambassadorial post at a time when relations have sagged from their heights of a few years ago. Under former President Carlos Salinas de Gortari, Mexico dramatically opened its economy and pursued a closer rela- tionship with the powerful neighbor it had long mistrusted. But during their nation's 1994-96 economic crisis, Mexican authorities turned inward, analysts say. And while President Ernesto Zedillo enjoys a good relationship with President Clinton, Mexico has been assailed repeatedly in the U.S. Congress fo s inability to curb drug traffick. Mexicans also have smarted as Washington has cracked down on migration. Poland working to improve air quality ZAKOPANE, Poland - The beat is on in Eastern Europe to clean the airo water - to prepare for talks in eb on accession to the European Union, and, in Poland's case, partly in hope of becoming the first ex-Communist coun- try to host an Olympics. Poland has emerged as a leader in improving air quality in a region that was devastated during the Communist era by pollutant-belching industries. Its effort in southern Poland includes a multi-million-dollar geothermal pro- ject to sweep this valuable tourist* clean of sulfur dioxide. - Compiled from Daily wire reports. Urtn ': The Michigan Daily (ISSN 0745-967) is published Monday through Friday during the fall and winter terms-by students at the University of Michigan. Subscriptions for fall term, starting in September, via U.S. mail are $85. Winter term (January through April) is $95, yearlong (September through April) is $165. On-campus s scriptions for fall term are $35. Subscriptions must be prepaid. The Michigan Daily is a member of the Associated Press and the Associated collegiate Press. ADDRESS: The Michigan Daily, 420 Maynard St., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109-1327. PHONE NUMBERS (All area code 313): News 76-DAILY; Arts 763-0379; Sports 647-3336; Opinion 764-0552; Circulation 764-0558; Classified advertising 764-0557; Display advertising 7640554; Billing 764-0550. E-mail letters to the editor to daily.Jetters@umichtedu. 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