Will Dow's index join pork bellies in futures trading? (2)

The month of May has a bad reputation on Wall Street. So far, it has lived up to its reputation, as the stock market has declined two out of three weeks. Last week, the Dow Jones industrial average closed at 835.90, down 21.88 points.

Investors took to the sidelines as the Falkland Islands crisis heated up and the financial ripples relating to the Drysdale Government Securities case spread. Drysdale, which traded government securities, defaulted on paying $270 million in interest due on government securities it had borrowed. Chase Manhattan Bank, however, which had acted as agent in obtaining the securities for Drysdale, agreed to pay the interest debt accumulated by Drysdale.