- CBS World News Roundup – April 24, 1980
Another busy news day in 1980 – The Hostage story in Iran was gaining traction.
Japan decided today to join America’s European Common Market allies and impose diplomatic and economic sanctions against Iran to gain release of the American hostages in Tehran. Government officials said Japan’s punitive action included the trimming of Japanese Embassy staff from its present 16, reintroduction of visa issuance for Iranian nationals entering Japan and curtailment of further export trade. In line with the niñe-member European Economic Community, Japan also may impose a complete trade embargo against Tehran if there is no progress in the release of the hostages by May 17, the officials said. The EEC’s foreign ministers Tuesday issued an ultimatum to Iran to release the American hostages by their next meeting in Naples, May 17, or face a total trade embargo. Japanese Ambassador Tsutomu Wada, recalled to Tokyo for consultations on the crisis, is expected to return to Tehran shortly to continue the diplomatic pressure on Iran’s Islamic leaders. Taking into account Iran’s cut-off of oil -to- Japan, which refused to” pay its increased. price,, two leading Japanese oil companies announced they have. contracted to increase oil imports from Kuwait. 1 Idemitsu Kosan said it has agreed with the Kuwait government to increase oil purchase by 80,000 barrels to 110,000 barrels a day beginning this month, and Daikyo Sekiyu also announced a contract with Kuwait. Kuwait, however, slapped a $5.50 surcharge per barrel on Idemitsu and $5 on Daikyo for the new shipments while the price of current shipments has kept at$27.50. Negotiations are still underway between Iran and Japanese refiners despite Japan’s refusal to pay Iran’s new oil price of $35 a barrel. In a further effort to diversify Japan’s oil supplies, the Tokyo government said it will sell an unspecified volume of national bonds to Saudi The world’s No. 2 oil producer after the Soviet Union.
And in other news – Rep. John B. Anderson of Illinois dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination today and announced he would run as an independent candidate “unfettered by party positions.” “I have chosen this course of action because it is now clear that I cannot attain a majority of the d delegates who will be attending the Republican National Convention in July,” Anderson said. While he will remain a Republican, Anderson said he is convinced there is enough voter dissatisfaction with President Carter and the Republican front-runner, Ronald Reagan, to allow him to become the first independent candidate ever to win a presidential election. His first campaign trip: as an independent will begin Saturday with stops in New York City, Washington, Atlanta, West Virginia, Detroit, Lansing, Mich., and Boston.
And finally – Exxon Corp., the nation’s largest oil company, Wednesday reported its first-quarter profits surged 101.6 percent to $1.92 billion – the highest quarterly earnings in U.S. corporate history. Meanwhile, Shell Oil Co., the eighth largest refiner, had a 66 percent increase in firstquarter profits. Occidental Petroleum Co., the 11th larg. est, logged a 236 percent earnings gain and Standard Oil Co. (Ohio), the 13th largest, a 169 percent jump. According to the American Petroleum Institute, an oil industry association, oil company profits have far exceeded non-oil company profits. The institute compared the fourth quarter 1979 earnings of the 25 largest oil companies with the earnings of the 100 largest non-oil companies. The institute has not computed the first quarter 1980 comparisons. However, the fourth quarter 1979 figures show the average increase in earnings for the oil companies for the fourth quarter was 69 percent, compared to a decrease of 24 percent for fourth quarter earnings of the 100 largest non-oil companies. For the year 1979, oil company profits rose by an average 72 percent. Non-oil company profits for the year 1979 rose six percent.
And aside from the ongoing story with the hostages in Iran, that’s just a slice of what happened, this April 24, 1980 as reported by CBS Radio News.
