News stories from Thursday December 27, 1973

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

Federal energy adviser William Simon announced a contingency gasoline rationing plan, but stated that the energy crisis is not as serious as expected. He said that if Americans continue to cooperate voluntarily, rationing won't be necessary. Simon asked teenagers to respond to the energy crisis by giving up their cars. Students generally reacted negatively to the idea. Airlines were also not pleased with Simon's announcement; they are still unsure of the fuel allocation for next month and schedules are in disarray. The immediate future of air travel appears grim.New England is down to last its bit of fuel oil for utilities as Simon and Congress remain at odds over an emergency energy bill. Simon's office will set up a committee to verify figures released by the major oil companies regarding the energy crisis. [CBS] Secretary of State Henry Kissinger reviewed the year end report on foreign policy. Kissinger stated that the Geneva peace conference is well underway, but warned that the outcome is unpredictable. Asked about the Arab oil embargo to the United States, he said that the embargo is "improper". U.S. relations with Western Europe are disappointing, and the administration has fallen behind schedule in making decisions with the Soviets regarding nuclear weapons. [CBS] Egypt's second army reportedly built causeways across the Suez to strengthen bridgeheads. Heavy fighting was reported on the Suez front; an Israeli soldier was allegedly killed last night. [CBS] President Nixon's decision to fly on a commercial flight to California has become controversial. The news media is complaining and Federal Aviation Administration director Alexander Butterfield is dismayed. The President's actions came as a surprise. Nixon is now secluded again at the Western White House although he chatted with passengers during the commercial flight on United Airlines. Press secretary Ron Ziegler said the flight was "friendly". [CBS] The Justice Department filed an antitrust suit against the Mid-American Dairymen's Association. [CBS] Incoming Ohio Senator Howard Metzenbaum denied that he needed to settle unpaid back taxes with the IRS. [CBS] The FBI reported that violent crimes are on the increase; property crimes have increased also.Gun control laws remain a controversial issue. New York City Mayor John Lindsay said he would like to stop America's "romance" with guns, adding that children should be kept away from violent, gun-slinging television movies. Estimates of the number of privately owned guns in the United States are staggering. Many hunters and target shooters have fiercely resisted government attempts to control the sale of guns. Congress has done little to control the manufacture and sale of guns, and prospects for any new gun control legislation are nil. [CBS] Billionaire Howard Hughes was indicted by a Las Vegas grand jury on charges of conspiracy and stock manipulation. Hughes would have to be extradited from the Bahamas to face the charges. [CBS] James Earl Ray, the convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, filed a lawsuit against the state of Tennessee. [CBS] Police say that the 90-year-old couple who were found dead in their Schenectady, New York, home had enough money to pay the power company bill. Electricity was cut off because the bill remained unpaid; Mr. and Mrs. Frank Baker may have frozen to death. [CBS] A Georgia judge ruled that the law requiring alimony is unconstitutional. The case involved 26-year-old Vince Murphy. Murphy said that some wives use alimony as a weapon; his ex-wife refused comment. Peg Nugent of the Feminist Action Alliance stated that she hopes all alimony laws will be rewritten. The judge's decision is expected to be appealed. [CBS]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 851.01 (+13.45, +1.61%)
S&P Composite: 97.74 (+2.00, +2.09%)
Arms Index: 0.83

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	1,181	15.71
Declines	443	4.89
Unchanged	261	2.12
Total Volume		22.72

* 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 26, 1973	837.56	95.74	18.62
December 24, 1973	814.81	92.90	11.54
December 21, 1973	818.73	93.54	18.68
December 20, 1973	828.11	94.55	17.43
December 19, 1973	829.57	94.82	20.67
December 18, 1973	829.49	94.74	19.49
December 17, 1973	811.12	92.75	12.93
December 14, 1973	815.65	93.29	20.00
December 13, 1973	800.43	92.38	18.13
December 12, 1973	810.73	93.57	18.19