News stories from Wednesday December 12, 1973

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

The Nixon administration proposed new controls on the production, distribution and use of oil. The new regulations stopped short of gasoline rationing. The White House energy office proposed that refineries cut gasoline production by 25%; gasoline is expected to increase in price by 6-7 cents per gallon. The administration's proposals cover heating oil, diesel fuel, aviation fuel, industrial oil and military needs. The National Petroleum Refiners Association claimed that a 25% cut in gasoline production will cause a reduction in quality, and low-quality gasoline would have an adverse effect on cars. [CBS] Reaction to the government's allocation plan was sampled in Los Angeles. Groups who get priority in fuel allocation were pleased with the plan, but the news is bad for the average commuter. Some gas station owners believe that the small amount of fuel which is to be allocated won't cover their operating expenses, and the stations may close. [CBS] Walter Heller, a former economic adviser to presidents Kennedy and Johnson, described an extremely gloomy economic picture for 1974 including hundreds of thousands of Americans losing their jobs, a six-month recession and an inflation rate approaching 10 percent. [CBS] Some truckers began work stoppages to protest high fuel costs and low speed limits. Teamsters union officials insisted that their truckers will continue working despite the shutdown of some independents. Fearing a more widespread trucking shutdown, several Illinois hog and cattle markets closed. [CBS] The energy crisis may have a ripple effect. Moving Florida fruits and vegetables to Northern markets is becoming more and more difficult because of the fuel crisis; a "food crisis" may result. The average person is likely not aware of the seriousness of the food situation. Even without shortages, consumers will pay more for food as the cost of diesel fuel rises. Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz has predicted a tight food situation for next year. [CBS] A major South Vietnamese oil supply depot burst into flames again because of high winds. The depot had been bombed previously by North Vietnam, causing an extensive loss of the country's oil supplies. The Pentagon announced that South Vietnam and Cambodia will receive U.S. oil every day. [CBS] The energy shortage has hit the Northeast hard. One Massachusetts power company ordered coal from Poland; the first shipments have begun arriving. The firm's president explained that Polish coal was purchased to keep the company operating at full capacity. The coal is supposedly clean-burning and cheap. Polish economic attache Stanislaw Zajac said that Polish coal is plentiful, and Poland is more than willing to sell America its coal. [CBS] Secretary of State Henry Kissinger called on European allies to pool their resources to solve the energy crisis. Kissinger announced that the United States is prepared to make financial and intellectual contributions to help solve the crisis. During his speech, Kissinger conceded that the U.S. should have done more to promote permanent peace in the Mideast. He added that the U.S. also should have consulted our European allies regarding Mideast policy. [CBS] A special cabinet meeting was called in Tel Aviv to decide if Israel will attend the Mideast peace conference in Geneva. [CBS] In Cairo, President Anwar Sadat fired his armed forces chief of staff and the commanders of two armies which were fighting major battles against the Israelis along the Suez Canal. [CBS] The Soviet Union announced a record grain crop this year. But Agriculture Secretary Earl Butz said that the United States probably would continue sales of feed grain to Russia. The Soviets are able to reduce their military budget because of Western detente. [CBS] Special Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski attended the confirmation hearings for Attorney General designate William Saxbe. Saxbe and Jaworski both vowed to maintain the special prosecutor's office independent of White House control. Saxbe was particularly delighted over the declaration of independence. [CBS] A joint committee of Congress agreed to examine President Nixon's personal finances; a complete audit will be carried out. Committee chairman Wilbur Mills appealed to every American to provide any information they have regarding the President's taxes. [CBS] A large group of consumer advocates and Congressmen urged the federal government to require more specific ingredient labels on food products. Representative Benjamin Rosenthal revealed that his own son died from ice cream which failed to list peanut butter as an ingredient; his son was allergic to peanuts. [CBS] Democrats chose Kansas City as the site for their 1974 convention. The party's charter and its position on national issues will be discussed. [CBS] The luxury liner "Queen Elizabeth" set sail last week to give those aboard a better look at the comet Kohoutek. Predawn comet watchers searched the skies for Kohoutek for three successive nights, but each night Kohoutek was elusive to the amateur astronomers because of weather. The astronomer who discovered Kohoutek was on board but unable to join the comet watchers because sea sickness kept him in bed all three days of the voyage. [CBS]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 810.73 (-23.45, -2.81%)
S&P Composite: 93.57 (-2.47, -2.57%)
Arms Index: 1.64

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	191	1.32
Declines	1,385	15.69
Unchanged	247	1.18
Total Volume		18.19

* 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 11, 1973	834.18	96.04	20.10
December 10, 1973	851.14	97.95	18.59
December 7, 1973	838.05	96.51	23.23
December 6, 1973	814.12	94.42	23.26
December 5, 1973	788.31	92.16	19.18
December 4, 1973	803.21	93.59	19.03
December 3, 1973	806.52	93.90	17.90
November 30, 1973	822.25	95.96	15.38
November 29, 1973	835.11	97.31	18.87
November 28, 1973	839.78	97.65	19.99