1988-1989 Facts & History

[NerdiestKen]

All facts and history from the 1990 World Almanac can be read here.

[NerdiestKen]

$25B Bid Buys RJR Nabisco - November 1988
Nabisco---One of the wildest takeover fights in American corporate history reached a resolution, November 30, when RJR Nabisco, the food and tobacco giant, was acquired for $25.07B. This figure was about twice the size of any other merger. The management group of Kohlberg Kravis Robert & Co. made the offer that was accepted by the outside directors of RJR Nabisco. A slightly higher offer by the management group led by RJR Pres. F. Ross Johnson was rejected.In October, the company's shares had been priced at 455, but the final offer was equivalent to $109 a share.

[NerdiestKen]

Emperor Hirohito Is Buried - February 1989
Emperor Hirohito of Japan, who died in January, was buried, February 24, in Tokyo in a daylong Shinto ceremony. Pres. George Bush was among the 55 heads of state in attendance. Altogether, some 160 countries were represented. Bush, a former envoy to China, flew on to Beijing, February 25, and on February 26, he met with China's supreme leader, Deng Xiaoping. In South Korea, February 27, Bush met with opposition leaders and addressed the National Assembly.

[NerdiestKen]

Congress OKs Compromise Budget - May 1989
Congress approved the compromise budget plan worked out in April between Pres. George Bush and Senate and House leaders. Differences between Senate and House versions were reconciled, May 11, and the House, May 17, and the Senate, May 18, then gave final approval. However, even more of its supporters acknowledged that some of the deficit-cutting tactics were illusory.

[NerdiestKen]

Venezuelans Riot Over Price Increases - February 1989
Venezuelans rioted in protest against government-imposed increases in transportation fares and gasoline prices. The new president, Carlos Andrés Pérez, had acted, February 16, to satisfy the International Monetary Fund, with which Venezuela had been negotiating on a loan. The nation's currency, the bolivar, was devalued. After the price increases were announced, February 27, riots spread around the country. Pérez declared martial law, February 28. Although wage increases were announced March 1, new riots erupted. Pérez said, March 3, that 300 had died in the violence.

[NerdiestKen]

Devastating Earthquake Hits Armenia - December 1988
A severe earthquake struck the Soviet republic of Armenia, December 7. A government estimate put the death toll at 25,000, and some 500,000 persons were homeless. The city of Leninakan, population 290,000, was nearly leveled; at least 32 mountain villages were destroyed. Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and his wife, having cut short a foreign tour, visited the ruined areas, December 10 and 11. At least 60 countries provided relief supplies, and several sent search-and-rescue experts and medical teams. Much of the damage was blamed on the flimsiness of buildings. Pravda reported that buildings constructed within the past 15 years had suffered the most damage.

[NerdiestKen]

Inflation Fears Ease - July 1989
Figures released by the government in July eased concerns about inflation. The Labor Dept. reported, July 7, that the unemployment rate has risen 0.1 percentage point in June to 5.2 percent. The department reported, July 14, that producer prices for finished goods had declined 0.1 percent in June and that the annual rate of advance (5.1 percent) in the second quarter had been only half of the advance reported for the first quarter. The Commerce Dept. said, July 18, that the merchandise trade deficit had widened to $10.24B in May. An increase in consumer prices of 0.2 percent in June, reported by the Labor Dept., July 19, was the smallest in 16 months. The Commerce Dept. reported, July 27, that the gross national product grew at an annual rate of 1.7 percent in the second quarter, its slowest rate of expansion in 3 years.

[NerdiestKen]

All-time Top Television Shows (1960-89)

TV show	Date	Households
1. M*A*S*H Finale (CBS) 2. Dallas (CBS) 3. Roots part 8 (ABC) 4. Super Bowl XVI (CBS) 5. Super Bowl XVII (NBC) 6. Super Bowl XX (NBC) 7. Gone with the Wind part 1 (NBC) 8. Gone with the Wind part 2 (NBC) 9. Super Bowl XII (CBS) 10. Super Bowl XIII (NBC) 11. Bob Hope Christmas Show (NBC) 12. Super Bowl XVIII (CBS) - Super Bowl XIX (ABC) 14. Super Bowl XIV (CBS) 15. ABC Theater: The Day After (ABC) 16. Roots part 6 (ABC) - The Fugitive Finale (ABC) 18. Super Bowl XXI (CBS) 19. Roots part 5 (ABC) 20. Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) 21. Bob Hope Christmas Special (NBC) 22. Roots part 3 (ABC) 23. Super Bowl XI (NBC) - Super Bowl XV (NBC) 25. Super Bowl VI (CBS) 26. Roots part 2 (ABC) 27. Beverly Hillbillies (CBS) - Roots part 4 (ABC) 29. Ed Sullivan Show (CBS) 30. Super Bowl XXIII (NBC)	February 28, 1983 November 21, 1980 January 30, 1977 January 24, 1982 January 30, 1983 January 26, 1986 November 7, 1976 November 8, 1976 January 15, 1978 January 21, 1979 January 15, 1970 January 22, 1984 January 20, 1985 January 20, 1980 November 20, 1983 January 28, 1977 August 29, 1967 January 25, 1987 January 27, 1977 February 9, 1964 January 14, 1971 January 25, 1977 January 9, 1977 January 25, 1981 January 16, 1972 January 24, 1977 January 8, 1964 January 26, 1977 February 16, 1964 January 22, 1989	50,150,000 41,470,000 36,380,000 40,020,000 40,480,000 41,490,000 33,960,000 33,750,000 34,410,000 35,090,000 27,260,000 38,800,000 39,390,000 35,330,000 38,550,000 32,680,000 25,700,000 40,030,000 32,540,000 23,240,000 27,050,000 31,900,000 31,610,000 34,540,000 27,450,000 31,400,000 22,570,000 31,190,000 22,445,000 39,320,000

[NerdiestKen]

23 Dead in Yugoslav Riots - March 1989
Clashes between police and ethnic Albanians left at least 23 people dead in Kosovo province, in Yugoslavia. Kosovo, which had an Albanian majority, was an autonomous region of the republic of Serbia. On March 23, Kosovo's legislature voted to give Serbia direct control over the province's courts and police. Demonstrations, which began immediately, quickly turned violent and spread to several cities.

[NerdiestKen]

Hurricane Causes Wide Devastation - September 1989
Hurricane Hugo swept through the Caribbean and struck the mainland in South Carolina, taking a heavy human toll and causing immense property damage. Moving northwest, the hurricane struck Guadeloupe, September 16, Montserrat, September 17, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico, September 18. On Montserrat, the most devastated island, 80 percent of the buildings were destroyed and 99 percent of its 12,000 inhabitants were homeless. On St. Thomas and St. Croix in the Virgins, it was estimated that 80 percent of the buildings were damaged. Several small towns on the east coast of Puerto Rico were virtually destroyed. Following 2 days of looting, Pres. George Bush, September 20, sent 1,100 military police to the Virgin Islands. With winds of 135 miles an hour, the center of the storm hit Charleston, South Carolina on the night of September 21-22. High tides and torrential rains soaked the barrier islands and the coast, damaging private and commercial property as well as many of the city's historical buildings. The death toll was put at 51, including 24 in the U.S. Congress, September 28, approved $1.1B in emergency aid, but many complained that the government was slow to respond effectively to the destruction.

[NerdiestKen]

Trial Focuses Attention on Child Abuse - January 1989
A former criminal lawyer, Joel Steinberg, was found guilty of 1st-degree manslaughter in New York City, January 30, in the death of beating of his 6-year-old illegally adopted daughter, Lisa. Damaging testimony against had been given by Hedda Nussbaum, Steinberg's lover. Steinberg was found not guilty of 2nd-degree murder, which would had required a conclusion that he had acted with a depraved indifference to human life. The shocking details of Steinberg's behavior as described in the trial drew nationwide attention to the problem of child abuse. Steinberg, March 24, received a maximum sentence of 8 1/2 to 25 years in prison.

[NerdiestKen]

NFL Final 1988 Standings

NFC Eastern Division Philadelphia Eagles 10W 6L 0T New York Giants 10W 6L 0T [e] Washington Redskins 7W 9L 0T [e] Phoenix Cardinals 7W 9L 0T [e] Dallas Cowboys 3W 13L 0T [e]	AFC Eastern Division Buffalo Bills 12W 4L 0T Indianapolis Colts 9W 7L 0T [e] New England Patriots 9W 7l 0T [e] New York Jets 8W 7L 1T [e] Miami Dolphins 6W 10L 0T [e]
NFL Central Division Chicago Bears 12W 4L 0T Minnesota Vikings 11W 5L 0T Tampa Bay Buccaneers 5W 11L 0T [e] Detroit Lions 4W 12L 0T [e] Green Bay Packers 4W 12L 0T [e]	AFC Central Division Cincinnati Bengals 12W 4L 0T Cleveland Browns 10W 6L 0T Houston Oilers 10W 6L 0T Pittsburgh Steelers 5W 11L 0T [e]
NFC Western Division San Francisco 49ers 10W 6L 0T Los Angeles Rams 10W 6L 0T New Orleans 10W 6L 0T [e] Atlanta Falcons 5W 11L 0T [e]	AFC Western Division Seattle Seahawks 9W 7L 0T Denver Broncos 8W 8L 0T [e] Los Angeles Raiders 7W 9L 0T [e] San Diego Chargers 6W 10L 0T [e] Kansas City Chiefs 4W 11L 1T [e]

Note(s) - Courtesy of Wikipedia
Cincinnati was the top AFC playoff seed ahead of Buffalo based on head-to-head victory (1–0).
Indianapolis finished ahead of New England in the AFC East based on better record against common opponents (7–5 to Patriots’ 6–6).
Cleveland finished ahead of Houston in the AFC Central based on better division record (4–2 to Oilers’ 3–3).
San Francisco was the second NFC playoff seed ahead of Philadelphia on better record against common opponents (5–3 to Eagles’ 5–4).
Philadelphia finished first in the NFC East based on head-to-head sweep of the N.Y. Giants (2–0).
Washington finished third in the NFC East based on better division record (4–4) than Phoenix (3–5).
Detroit finished fourth in the NFC Central based on head-to-head sweep of Green Bay (2–0).
San Francisco finished first in the NFC West based on better head-to-head record (3–1) against the L.A. Rams (2–2) and New Orleans (1–3).
The L.A. Rams finished second in the NFC West based on better division record (4–2) than New Orleans (3–3).
Rams earned the #2 NFC Wild Card based on better conference record (8–4, .667) than the N.Y. Giants (9–5, .642) and New Orleans (6–6, .500).

[NerdiestKen]

"Junk-Bond King" Is Indicted - March 1989
Michael Milken, the head of the so-called junk-bond department at Drexel Burnham Lambert, was indicted, March 29, along with his brother and a 3rd Drexel employee, on 98 counts of racketeering, mail fraud, securities fraud, and other criminal charges. The indictment charged that Milken had led a conspiracy to defraud Drexel clients, shareholders, and the investing public. Milken's use of high-risk securities to finance corporate takeovers and leveraged buyouts had added a chapter to Wall Street history and had made Milken very rich: in 1987 alone he had received $550M in compensation from Drexel. Milken said he would plead not guilty to the charges.

[NerdiestKen]

North sentenced in Iran-Contra Case - July 1989
Former National Security Council aide Oliver North, who had been convicted in May in the Iran-Contra arms scandal, received his sentence in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., July 6. Before sentencing, North acknowledged to Judge Garland Gesell that he grieved over what happened and that he had made "many mistakes." Gesell gave North a 3-year suspended prison sentence, put him on probation for 2 years, ordered him to perform 1,200 hours of community service, and fined him $150,000. The judge said, "I do not think in this area you were a leader at all, but really a low-ranking subordinate working to carry out initiatives of a few cynical superiors."

[NerdiestKen]

Most Active Common Stocks in 1988

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)	American Exchange (AMEX)	NASDAQ
AT&T - 421.6M shares IBM - 366M shares General Electric - 354.4M shares Exxon - 349.2M shares Occidental Petroleum - 335.6M shares Southern Co. - 323.3M shares Texaco - 313.4M shares Pacific Gas and Electric - 301.2M shares RJR Nabisco - 287.6M shares Ford Motor Company - 284.5M shares Philadelphia Electric - 266.7M shares Union Carbide - 264M shares General Motors - 263.6M shares Eastman Kodak - 255.4M shares Houston Industries - 247.9M shares Navistar - 246.6M shares	Wang Labs B - 96.8M shares Texas Air - 94.6M shares Amdahl - 82.4M shares Magma Copper - 79M shares Lorimar-Telepictures - 77.1M shares Echo Bay Mines - 58.4M shares Diasonics - 50.1M shares New York Times A - 42.4M shares First Australia Prime - 39.5M shares BAT Industries - 37M shares Western Digital - 35.1M shares Fruit of the Loom - 32.5M shares Home Shopping - 31.8M shares Energy Service Co. - 28.9M shares Telesphere International - 26.9M shares	MCI - 473.5M shares Intel - 456.5M shares Apple Computer - 369.1M shares Seagate - 235.6M shares Sun Microsystems - 195.6M shares Lotus - 194M shares Micro Tech - 185.1M shares Tele-communications A - 178.8M shares Liz Clairborne - 167.3M shares Miniscribe - 131.2M shares Ashton Tate - 122.2M shares Microsoft - 121.4M shares Intergraph - 113.9M shares Apollo Computer - 112M shares Oracle Systems - 108.2M shares