20 years ago this week: R.J. Reynolds Industries Inc. was moving to acquire San Francisco-based Del Monte Corp. … a federal judge upheld the SEC’s use of a special counsel in a criminal investigation of Hawthorne-based Mattel Inc. on securities law violations … Pasadena’s Parsons Co. settled charges brought by the SEC that it had failed to disclose foreign and domestic payments.

The Newsmaker: Aircraft leasing magnate Louis Gonda announced a $250 million order to buy 10 of Boeing’s new 767 aircraft. Gonda’s company, Beverly Hills-based International Lease Finance Corp., was planning to lease the aircraft to commercial airlines around the world.

The Numbers:

Aug. 3, 1978

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 886.87

London gold: $201.75 oz.

Levi’s bell-bottoms: $22

Casio alarm watch: $99.95