News stories from Friday March 11, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Church bells rang and automobile horns blared early today upon the release of 134 hostages who had been held by Hanafi Moslem gunmen. Twelve of the Hanafi Moslems were tentatively charged with armed kidnapping and several, including their leader, Hamaas Abdul Khaalis, were freed pending further legal proceedings.
The 134 men and women held hostage by the Hanafi Moslems were ashen and shaken, and many were bloodied and bruised, but all were elated that they had survived. Their separate stories provided a composite picture of numbing fear, puzzling contradictions, humor and even some flickering respect for their menacing captors.
The release of the 134 hostages followed tedious negotiations conducted jointly by the Washington police, the Ambassadors from three Islamic countries and State Department specialists in terrorists' tactics. The role of the Ambassadors -- from Pakistan, Egypt and Iran -- developed almost by accident only moments after the gunmen seized the hostages Wednesday.
[New York Times] - The Senate majority leader, Robert Byrd, told President Carter in a letter of his colleagues' "anger and frustration" at not being told of White House decisions in which the Congressmen wanted a voice. The letter was prompted by the administration's unilateral suspension of 19 water projects but was intended, Mr. Byrd said, as a general warning. [New York Times]
- Robert Strauss, the former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was appointed by President Carter as international trade negotiator with the rank of ambassador. His title will be Special Representative for Trade Negotiations. [New York Times]
- The number of banks with serious problems dropped to 23 from 28 in the last year. Robert Bloom, Acting Comptroller of the Currency, told the Senate Banking Committee that "the condition of the banking system has improved significantly as the economy had recovered from the worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930's." [New York Times]
- The Carter Administration reversed a Ford administration policy and decided to enter into negotiations for international financing to stabilize key world commodity prices. The international financing has been a major demand of the developing nations. The United States participation was recommended by President Carter's Economic Policy Group after intensive discussions. [New York Times]
- New York City's request for a $255 million federal loan to help stave off bankruptcy was approved by Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal. He said the Carter administration would develop legislative proposals later this year for "dealing with the country's urban problems, including those of New York." New York was warned that "it's not going to be a free lunch." [New York Times]
- Most stock prices varied slightly in slow trading. The Dow Jones industrial average, ahead by more than 2 points in the opening hour, closed with a token advance of 0.99 point to 917.72. It lost a total of more than 5 points through the week. [New York Times]
- The Bank of Japan announced a reduction in its official discount rate to 6 percent from 6½, effective tomorrow. The bank said the reduction was necessary because the recovery of Japan's economy is still slow and domestic demand is inactive. [New York Times]
- Winter vacations in the southern United States are costing Canadians substantially more this year because of a decline in the value of the Canadian dollar, which is at its lowest level in seven years compared with its American counterpart. [New York Times]
- The Pentagon for the first time will have a representative at Kremlin-level talks on arms control with Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet Communist Party leader. President Carter, in an apparent gesture to the Defense Department and his Senate critics, appointed a representative of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Edward Rowny, to participate in the talks. Secretary of State Cyrus Vance will head the American delegation. [New York Times]
- Brazil canceled its 25-year-old military assistance treaty with the United States over a State Department report criticizing its alleged violations of human rights. The Carter administration had planned to ask Congress for more than $50 million in military aid credits for Brazil. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry said the report was an intolerable interference in domestic affairs. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 947.72 (+0.99, +0.10%)
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* |
| March 10, 1977 | 946.73 | 100.67 | 18.52 |
| March 9, 1977 | 942.90 | 100.10 | 19.68 |
| March 8, 1977 | 952.04 | 100.87 | 19.52 |
| March 7, 1977 | 955.12 | 101.25 | 17.41 |
| March 4, 1977 | 953.46 | 101.20 | 18.95 |
| March 3, 1977 | 948.64 | 100.88 | 17.56 |
| March 2, 1977 | 942.07 | 100.39 | 18.01 |
| March 1, 1977 | 944.73 | 100.66 | 19.48 |
| February 28, 1977 | 936.42 | 99.82 | 16.22 |
| February 25, 1977 | 933.43 | 99.48 | 17.61 |