News stories from Thursday January 20, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Jimmy Carter was sworn in as the 39th President of the United States and then, in a 17-minute inaugural address that drew on an Old Testament prophet and one of his high school teachers, declared, "I have no new dream to set forth today, but, rather, urge a fresh faith in the old dream." Walter Mondale took the oath of office as Vice President, replacing Nelson Rockefeller who, with his family, had spent the night at the White House. [New York Times]
- Walking to the White House after his inauguration, President Carter astonished and delighted thousands of well-wishers lining the mile-and-a-half route by his departure from the traditions of formality and security. With his wife Rosalynn at his side for the 40-minute stroll -- and their 9-year-old daughter, Amy, skipping along for part of the way -- the President drew cheers, waves and an escort of hundreds of youngsters who raced along the sides of the avenue. [New York Times]
- Addressing "citizens of the world," President Carter broadcast an unusual supplement to his inaugural address, vowing to work for "a world order that is more responsive to human aspirations." He stressed disarmament, said he would seek international cooperation to end poverty, hunger, disease and "political repression," and declared, "We will not seek to dominate nor dictate to others." [New York Times]
- Gerald Ford listened to his successor express the gratitude of the nation "for all he has done to heal the land in his two and a half years as President," and then with his wife Betty flew off to California convinced, as he had told his cabinet and staff earlier, that his administration was successful and one "which history will treat kindly." [New York Times]
- Taking the reins of power, Jimmy Carter and his staff moved into their White House offices and promptly got down to business. Mr. Carter had a series of late afternoon meetings following the inaugural parade and his aides tackled the first major problem of his administration -- figuring out how the telephones work. [New York Times]
- Stock prices tumbled and the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 9.64 points to 959.03, bringing its loss so far this year to a total of 45 points. The market opened firmly, but started its slide with sharp losses among some blue chip issues and selling in the recently strong natural gas stocks. Declining issues outnumbered gainers by nearly 2 to 1. Credit markets continued to advance and then slipped back in quieter trading, but finished with gains for the day -- the first time this year that they have had two good days in a row. The General Telephone Company sold a $50 million bond issue to an underwriting group headed by Paine, Webber, Jackson & Curtis, at an interest rate of 8.32 percent. [New York Times]
- Severe shortages of natural gas and consequent economic disruption will continue for the rest of the winter and most likely into next year as a result of the record cold weather, industry officials believe. In addition, supplemental gas may not be available from the uncontrolled intrastate lines. [New York Times]
- Ohio's energy authorities exercised unprecedented emergency powers to deal with a critical shortage of natural gas in a 24-county area in the southwest part of the state. Under an "energy emergency" declared by Gov. James Rhodes, schools were ordered closed for a minimum of 30 days and retailers were put on a 40-hour week. The emergency area is served by the Dayton Power and Light Company. The rest of the state was put on an "energy alert." [New York Times]
- The Carter administration was advised by energy and environmental specialists to put even more stress on energy conservation than has been urged recently. An interim report from the National Research Council's committee on nuclear and alternative energy systems forecasts severe limitations on the growth of energy use in this country for decades. [New York Times]
- A 10-day embargo on all shipments of Florida oranges and grapefruit is expected to be announced today by the Florida Citrus Commission to give the state's citrus industry time to assess losses from several recent nights of sub-freezing temperatures. [New York Times]
- Major New York City banks have told Mayor Beame and Governor Carey to get a formal commitment from President Carter for a five-year extension of federal loans to the city in return for an agreement by the banks to help the city meet its immediate borrowing needs. [New York Times]
- India removed censorship of its newspapers and instructed state authorities to "expedite" the release of political prisoners. The moves followed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's promise Tuesday that, in preparation for a parliamentary election in March, the "rules of the emergency are being relaxed to permit all legitimate activity necessary for recognized parties to put their points of view before the people." The year-and-a-half-old state of emergency, nevertheless, remains in effect. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 959.03 (-9.64, -1.00%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| January 19, 1977 | 968.67 | 103.85 | 27.12 |
| January 18, 1977 | 962.43 | 103.32 | 24.38 |
| January 17, 1977 | 967.25 | 103.73 | 21.06 |
| January 14, 1977 | 972.16 | 104.01 | 24.48 |
| January 13, 1977 | 976.15 | 104.20 | 24.78 |
| January 12, 1977 | 968.25 | 103.40 | 22.67 |
| January 11, 1977 | 976.65 | 104.12 | 24.10 |
| January 10, 1977 | 986.87 | 105.20 | 20.86 |
| January 7, 1977 | 983.13 | 105.01 | 21.72 |
| January 6, 1977 | 979.89 | 105.02 | 23.92 |