News stories from Friday December 14, 1973

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

The House and Senate passed the bill to place the nation on daylight savings time to conserve power. Congress also passed a national 55 m.p.h. speed limit. The Nixon administration believes that the energy crisis may not be as severe as anticipated; Saudi Arabia may lift its U.S. oil embargo next month. Federal energy officer John Sawhill appeared before Congress today and painted an even more optimistic energy picture. Energy czar William Simon stated that this winter will be less disrupted by the energy crisis than first anticipated. [CBS] President Nixon lit the national Christmas tree and stated that the number of Christmas lights doesn't measure the happiness of the Christmas season. The President and his aides are considering taking a train for their trip to Florida on the day after Christmas, instead of flying. Experts aren't sure if the cost would actually be less than flying. Despite President Nixon's own travel plans, White House spokesman Gerald Warren said that the President still feels that people should spend more time at home to conserve fuel. [CBS] Independent truckers continued to protest their plight in Washington and on America's highways. Transportation Secretary Claude Brinegar met with truckers and truck stop owners throughout the day. Brinegar stated that he hopes to meet most of the truckers' demands, and also hopes that trucks will begin moving again without further violence. On Capitol Hill, a more militant group of truckers spent the day with Kansas Senator Robert Dole. J.W. Edwards headed the group and outlined its demands.Incidents of violence have been aimed primarily at drivers who were unwilling to the support work stoppage. One of the truckers' leaders was arrested in Delaware today. [CBS] Pan Am warned that transatlantic flights to London may be cut. British Airways and BOAC stated that flight cancellations are widespread due to the fuel shortage. [CBS] It is being reported that Saudi Arabia's lifting of the U.S. oil embargo will happen only if significant advances are made at the Mideast peace conference in Geneva next week. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger discussed the conference with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt and Saudi Arabia's King Faisal. In Jerusalem, the cabinet continued debate on Israel's attendance at the talks. Ellsworth Bunker will head the U.S. delegation at the peace conference. [CBS] Nine European Common Market nations met in Copenhagen. The energy crisis dominated the conference. Uninvited Arab foreign ministers arrived at the conference and virtually took it over. Arab spokesmen denied any attempt at blackmail. Only the Dutch continue to resist the Arabs. [CBS] Fifteen American, European and Japanese companies have agreed to buy Iranian crude oil at record prices. Iran offered the oil earlier at a much lower price, but the oil companies and the Nixon administration refused. Iran began selling oil to Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa after the U.S. declined to buy it. Iran's oil minister thinks that Western oil companies must shoulder some of the responsibility for the U.S. energy crisis. [CBS] In Marseilles, France, racial and political tension is high. A bomb was thrown into the Algerian consulate, killing four people. [CBS] A dormitory explosion at a plastics factory killed 80 teenage apprentice workers in Tachov, Czechoslovakia. [CBS] Senators Lowell Weicker and Sam Ervin have made their own personal financial statements public. Ervin stated that he released his income tax statements without fear of wrongdoing. The Watergate investigation continues. [CBS] A book published by former prostitute Norma Levy charges that President Nixon's nephew Donald arranged orgies in financier Robert Vesco's private jet. [CBS] Memorex filed a $1 billion antitrust suit against IBM. [CBS] John Cappelletti of Penn State received the Heisman trophy yesterday as college football's outstanding player. Cappelletti was presented the award by Vice President Gerald Ford. Cappelletti dedicated the trophy to his younger brother who has leukemia. [CBS]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 815.65 (+15.22, +1.90%)
S&P Composite: 93.29 (+0.91, +0.99%)
Arms Index: 0.71

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	914	12.23
Declines	557	5.28
Unchanged	364	2.49
Total Volume		20.00

* 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 13, 1973	800.43	92.38	18.13
December 12, 1973	810.73	93.57	18.19
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