News stories from Thursday October 28, 1971
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The British House of Commons voted 356-244 for Great Britain to enter the European Common Market; the final vote in Parliament is yet to come. Prime Minister Edward Heath is worried about opposition to the Common Market.
In London, protests were held against Britain entering the Common Market. Half of the British population is against the move; 30% are in favor. The entry fee is $2 billion. It has been reported that food prices in England would increase 15-20% and the overall cost of living would rise 5-6%. If Britain joins, the Common Market will become the largest trading unit in the world; its economic strength will rival America and surpass the Soviet Union. Some American economists fear that the Common Market will compete against the United States.
[CBS] - The U.S. had a trade surplus in September; exports exceeded imports by $265.4 million due to the dockworkers' strike. [CBS]
- Longshoremen went back to work in New Orleans and Philadelphia, but other Atlantic and Gulf Coast ports are still shut down aside from those in Texas. [CBS]
- President Nixon and his advisers briefed businessmen via closed circuit television with regard to the Phase II economic plan. The National Association of Manufacturers arranged a showing for 26 cities. Commerce Secretary Maurice Stans said that the price commission and pay board must realize that retroactive wage adjustments are hard on business because it is not possible to make prices retroactive. Treasury Secretary John Connally said that he is not asking for a tax on excess profits because aren't any excess profits.
AFL-CIO president George Meany told the House Banking Committee that organized labor's continued cooperation depends on the amount of sacrifice it is asked to make. Meany told the pay board that labor will discuss nothing else until the retroactive wage issue is settled.
[CBS] - Vice President Spiro Agnew told the Associated Press that it's too early for President Nixon to decide whether to replace him on the 1972 presidential ticket. It is rumored that Treasury Secretary Connally will take Agnew's place. [CBS]
- A U.S. appeals court refused to delay the nuclear test at Amchitka Island, Alaska. But the court ordered the government to produce the secret studies which reportedly concluded that environmental damage could result from the explosion. [CBS]
- Last January, two oil tankers collided and spilled oil in San Francisco Bay. Standard Oil of California agreed to pay the cost of the cleanup, which was estimated at $4-6 million. A federal grand jury indicted the company for violating the 1899 Refuse Act. [CBS]
- The Nixon administration won rejection of a rider to restrict military spending in Vietnam to troop withdrawal only. However, the foreign aid bill contains Senator Mike Mansfield's amendment which calls for a total pullout by spring. The Senate voted 43-40 to reaffirm its support of the 1955 resolution authorizing military intervention if China invades Taiwan. [CBS]
- South Vietnam will release 3,000 POWs in honor of President Nguyen Van Thieu's inauguration, and today the U.S. called for an exchange of POWs at the Paris Peace Talks. Communists called South Vietnam's move an impudent maneuver to turn attention away from the "fascist" character of the South Vietnamese regime. [CBS]
- The Pentagon denied a Chicago Tribune story regarding the mass release of American POWs in the near future. [CBS]
- British and Irish troops confronted each other at a bridge on the Northern Ireland border. The Irish said that half of the bridge belongs to them, so the British couldn't blow it up; the British backed down. [CBS]
- President Tito of Yugoslavia was welcomed at the White House. The Nixons greeted Tito and his wife in a ceremony heavy with military trappings. Tito emphasized Yugoslavia's freedom from the Soviet Union and China. President Nixon talked to Tito about his planned trips and affairs in the Middle East, India and Pakistan. Tito is seeking more trade with the U.S. and more American industrial investment in Yugoslavia. He and his wife will tour the Western U.S. after Saturday. [CBS]
- The Soviet news agency reported that Egypt rejected the U.S. interim peace plan. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 837.62 (+1.24, +0.15%)
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* |
| October 27, 1971 | 836.38 | 93.79 | 13.48 |
| October 26, 1971 | 845.36 | 94.74 | 13.39 |
| October 25, 1971 | 848.50 | 95.10 | 7.34 |
| October 22, 1971 | 852.37 | 95.51 | 14.56 |
| October 21, 1971 | 854.05 | 95.60 | 14.99 |
| October 20, 1971 | 855.65 | 95.65 | 16.34 |
| October 19, 1971 | 868.43 | 97.00 | 13.04 |
| October 18, 1971 | 872.44 | 97.35 | 10.42 |
| October 15, 1971 | 874.85 | 97.79 | 13.12 |
| October 14, 1971 | 878.36 | 98.13 | 12.87 |