January 28, 1992

The Macy's Bankruptcy R. H. Macy & Co. filed for bankruptcy protection, finally admitting defeat in its bruising battle with creditors and the economy. [ Page A1. ]

In an important ruling on the Federal Voting Rights Act, the Supreme Court today adopted a narrow view of the 1965 law and rejected arguments the Bush Administration had put forward on behalf of black elected officials in two Alabama counties. The blacks won election to previously all-white county boards, only to find that some budgetary authority over roads that individual commissioners had historically exercised had been stripped from the offices. The reorganizations were supported by the white incumbents.

In tones reflecting the increasingly combative exchanges between Japan and the United States, the head of a Japanese auto group said today that it was "incomprehensible" that Detroit had not accepted Tokyo's offer to buy $19 billion more in American-made auto parts. He said top Japanese executives "have no intention" of discussing the issue again with the Big Three. The comments by Yutaka Kume, the president of Nissan Motor Company and the chairman of the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association, virtually erased any hopes of continuing discussions among the world's biggest auto makers about how to close the trade gap between the countries.

As if anyone needed yet another sign of how well Wall Street has been doing, Merrill Lynch & Company yesterday reported quarterly earnings of $170.1 million, raising its yearly profits to a record $696.1 million. Merrill, Wall Street's biggest brokerage firm, credited its success to controlling costs even as the stock market surged and underwritings of new stock and bond issues multiplied.

In his State of the Union Message tonight, President Bush will address a nation that is gloomier than it has been in 13 years, more disapproving of his Presidency than ever and increasingly willing to try a Democrat in the White House, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll. The survey suggests that Mr. Bush's speech at 9 o'clock tonight may be the most important of his Presidency. He is facing a discontented and volatile electorate that on a variety of issues is willing to give the opposition party the benefit of the doubt.