November 2, 1991

Underscoring that the economic recovery has slowed to a near standstill, Labor Department figures showed today that payroll jobs failed to rise in October and that the unemployment rate edged back up to its August level of 6.8 percent. Although the report was only modestly worse than expected, despite sharp job losses in manufacturing, retail trade and construction, economists said it added to fears that the midyear rebound had stagnated.

Deregulation in Argentina Argentina's President announced a vast economic deregulation to reverse decades of Government intervention and protectionism. Page 3. 4 Slain on Iowa Campus University of Iowa officials say a disgruntled graduate student from China shot four people to death before killing himself. Page 8. Senate Derails Energy Bill The Senate derailed an Administration-backed bill to reduce dependence on foreign oil, blocking drilling in an Alaskan wildlife refuge. Page 37.

The opening phase of the Middle East peace conference ended today on a sour note, with Arabs and Israelis exchanging invective and with no indication whether sustained, direct peace talks between the old enemies will take place. These follow-up negotiations, which are in doubt because of a dispute between Israel and the Arabs over where they should be conducted, could mark the success or failure of the whole peace conference.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson, whose two campaigns for the Presidency inspired blacks and bedeviled Democratic strategists, has told party officials he will not seek the nomination next year, a highly placed party strategist said today. Mr. Jackson told Ronald H. Brown, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, at a meeting this morning that he would stay out of the contest, the strategist said. Mr. Jackson is scheduled to publicly declare his intentions on Saturday at a noon rally at a public housing project near the Capitol.

The Energy Department postponed a decision on how and where to build a new reactor to produce tritium for nuclear bombs for at least two years, saying the Administration's latest arms control initiatives had made it less urgent. The reactor is one of the costliest and most complex projects envisioned in a comprehensive rebuilding of the nation's nuclear bomb manufacturing industry, and until recently it had been a priority. In the last two years the program has cost $678 million; it was to cost $1 billion more in the next two years. Article, page 9.