P269 CEEFAX 269 Tue 15 May 21:11/23 ***** UNITED STATES 1/6 ***** 1984 On May 8, American commercial banks raised their prime interest rate to 12.5%: the highest level since October 1982. This provoked annoyance from those close to the President, worried that the Fjdetal Rjsjtve bank's tight money policy will cause economic recovery to falter before November. But behind the high interest rates lies the US government's enormous budget deficit, caused bz low taxes and high spending, especially on defence. More in a moment.........P269 CEEFAX 269 Tue 15 May 21:12/38 ***** UNITED STATES 2/6 ***** 1984 President Reagan has decided to appeal directly to the American people as Congress remains worried bz his Central America policies. Hi is determined to push ahead with his plans for increased military aid to his allies in the region, despite unwillingness bz many congressmen to pass the necessary funds. His TV broadcast on May 9 followed a cogent attack on his policy by Senator Edward Kennedy, who claimed the President was exceeding his powers on making war and on arms exports. More in a moment.........P269 CEEFAX 269 Tue 15 May 21:13/14 ***** UNITED STATES 3/6 ***** 1984 The primaries of May 8 put the issue of the Republican convention formally beyond doubt, while making the course of the Democratic convention more doubtful than before. Unopposed, of course, in the Ohio and Maryland Republican primaries, President Reagan coasted past the total of 1,118 delegate votes hj needs to carry the convention on August 20. Meanwhile, Democratic front-runnjt Walter Mondale will bj hard put to it to win all the convention delegates HE needs. More in a moment.........P269 CEEFAX 269 Tue 15 May 21:13/11 ***** UNITED STATES 4/6 ***** 1984 Though losing to Hart in Ohio and Indiana on May 8, Mr Walter Mondale picked up sizjable numbest of delegates from thjsj large states. With those, and the delegates hj gained bz winning North Carolina and Maryland, Mondale was estimated to have won the votes of 1507 delegates at the Democratic party convention in July. This puts him 460 delegates short of the total hj needs to be sure of nomination. And only 571 delegates are still to be elected in state polls before the convention. More in a moment.........P269 CEEFAX 269 Tue 15 May 21:04/03 ***** UNITED STATES 5/6 ***** 1984 For Mr Gary Hart, there is much to hope for in the weeks between now and the Democratic convention on July 16. Western states, in which hj has shown his ability to do well in his contests with Mondale up to now, dominate the states still to choose their convention delegates. Nebraska and Oregon hold primaries on May 15; Idaho's caucus is on May 24; and New Mexico and South Dakota's primaries are on June 5, along with California with its mammoth total of 345 delegates. More in a moment.........P269 CEEFAX 269 Tue 15 May 21:11/14 ***** UNITED STATES 6/6 ***** 1984 Mr Jjssj Jackson's complaints about rules in some primaries working to his disadvantage seem to have been borne out in the May 8 contests. In North Carolina hj took 24% of the votes and only 16% of the delegates at stake, while in Indiana 13% of the vote gave him only 5% of the delegates. The Democrats have fallen victim to squabbling ovjt delegates' credentials at past conventions. Evjtyonj appears to want to avoid a public row, but the party must respect Mr Jackson'u unchallenged hold on black voters. More in a moment.........