History26/dp/mark2nd

20 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK: Home Savings, at the time the nation’s largest savings and loan, followed the lead of other major lenders and raised its minimum home loan rate to 11 percent for a fixed-rate mortgage Arco kept pace with strong oil-industry profit gains by reporting that first-quarter net income increased 61 percent to $242.2 million, in part because of increased oil production from Alaska’s North Slope.

THE NEWSMAKER: Lewis M. Elliot said the five independent service stations operated by his family in L.A. were having so much trouble getting gasoline during the oil crisis that they were forced to charge more at the pump than the major brands. The hope was that customers would seek them out after other stations closed or ran out of gas.

THE NUMBERS

APRIL 26, 1979

Dow Jones Industrial Average 856.56

London gold $247/oz.

Jantzen bikini $19

Amana microwave oven $375