This Day In 1970's History: Sunday December 26, 1976
- Christmas sales were much better than retailers had anticipated, and the rush in the final two days of the 29-day shopping season made a vital difference. Sales advanced 4 percent to 10 percent over last year, with an average increase of about 6.5 percent, according to a spot check of 10 major cities. The results, however, were far below 1975's 15 percent and 18 percent gains over 1974 in apparel and department stores sales, respectively. [New York Times]
- Bullish is what most analysts and portfolio managers say about the stock market's prospects for 1977, and they believe that the first six months will be the better part of the year. In the next few months the Dow Jones industrial average is expected to soar above its record closing high of 1,051.70 on Jan. 11, 1973. Energy, banking, insurance and telephones are some of the stocks repeatedly cited by analysts as offering money-making possibilities in 1977. [New York Times]
- American investors are saying that 1976 has only been a so-so year for the stock market, but foreign stockholders have done much worse, according to a survey by correspondents of the New York Times in eight cities. [New York Times]
- To help cut home gas-heating costs, a federal energy official proposes that local utilities take the initiative and pay for insulation against heat loss, clock thermostats and improvements in furnace efficiency, things that would presumably he paid for by the homeowner. The cost of saving gas would be less than the cost of buying gas, according to William Rosenberg, assistant administrator of the Federal Energy Administration and former chairman of the Michigan Public Service Commission. [New York Times]
- Both houses of Congress are trying to protect from the political spoils system the Republican United States Attorney and his first assistant who together led the two-year investigation that exposed widespread corruption in the grain industry. Both efforts were initiated in Democratic quarters. Their objective is to keep Federal Attorney Gerald Gallinghouse of New Orleans and his first assistant, Cornelius Heusel, in their jobs so that they may finish their investigations. [New York Times]
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