HISTORY/1stjc/mark2nd

30 YEARS AGO THIS WEEK:

The prospect of a national steel strike was not being taken seriously at the Earle M. Jorgensen Co. At the company’s annual meeting, Chairman Earle M. Jorgensen said the Vietnam War necessitated ongoing steel production and made it likely that President Lyndon Johnson would quash any job action.

THE NEWSMAKER

Eli Broad said Kaufman & Broad Inc. was on track to grow by 25 percent annually as a result of the need for new housing. “With homeowner vacancy rates at the lowest level in a decade and inventories only about half as large as three years ago, a shortage of new homes is imminent,” Broad, the company president, told shareholders at the annual meeting.

THE NUMBERS

April 13, 1968

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 910.19

New York Gold: $91.05

IBM electric typewriter: $148.88

Electric printing calculator: $123.88