News stories from Friday December 6, 1974

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

The Labor Department reported that the nation's unemployment rate sharply increased in November for the third consecutive month, reaching 6.5 percent of the labor force, or just under 6 million jobless persons, the highest rate in 13 years. Total employment had its first large decrease since the economic slowdown began a year ago. After rising gently through most of 1974, the number of jobs dropped by about 800,000 last month. [New York Times] The Democratic party, gathered in Kansas City, Mo., in the first non-presidential convention in American politics, outlined a program of "economic recovery" for the country and prepared to adopt tomorrow a harmony charter of rules and broad principles for itself. The economic agenda, combining anti-inflation controls with anti-recession stimulation, was presented as an alternative to the "callous economic nonsense" of the Ford administration. [New York Times] Acknowledging that voluntary efforts to curb oil imports were not going as well as hoped, the White House press secretary, Ron Nessen, said that President Ford planned to announce new energy conservation proposals next month. He said he thought that mandatory controls on oil imports would be among the options that the President will consider, but that it was "much too soon" to say what the final proposals would be. [New York Times] The Federal Reserve Board announced a reduction in the discount rate it charges on its loans to banks from 8 percent to 7¾ percent. It was the clearest message since last August that the central bank wants to make credit conditions easier. The reduction will apply initially only at the Federal Reserve Banks of New York and Philadelphia, but the other 10 regional reserve banks are expected to follow soon. [New York Times] The United States warned the United Nations that support for it in Congress and among the American people is eroding. Speaking in the General Assembly, John Scali, the chief United States delegate, criticized the recent organization's drift toward dominance by a broad coalition of developing countries, including very small ones, backed by the Communist powers. Mr. Scali asserted that a recent trend in the United Nations to "adopt one-sided, unrealistic resolutions that cannot be implemented" was accelerating, and he said there was a new threat -- a growing tendency by the United Nations to flout its own charter. [New York Times] Secretary of Defense James Schlesinger described the proposed new arms agreement with the Soviet Union as "a major step forward" but acknowledged it would lead to larger strategic forces than previously planned by the United States. He foresees a major restructuring of the country's strategic forces, with an increasing reliance on submarine-based missiles. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 577.60 (-9.51, -1.62%)
S&P Composite: 65.01 (-1.12, -1.69%)
Arms Index: 1.50

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	251	1.64
Declines	1,176	11.56
Unchanged	398	2.30
Total Volume		15.50

* in millions of shares

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*
December 5, 1974	587.11	66.13	12.89
December 4, 1974	598.64	67.41	12.58
December 3, 1974	596.61	67.17	13.62
December 2, 1974	603.02	68.11	11.14
November 29, 1974	618.66	69.97	7.40
November 27, 1974	619.29	69.94	14.81
November 26, 1974	617.26	69.47	13.60
November 25, 1974	611.94	68.83	11.30
November 22, 1974	615.30	68.90	13.02
November 21, 1974	608.57	68.18	13.82