News stories from Thursday January 31, 1974
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Secretary of State Kissinger said that several Arab leaders planned to recommend lifting the oil embargo when representatives of the Arab oil-producing nations meet in Libya on Feb. 14 -- or at an earlier date. In offering his most optimistic assessment of the prospects for a renewed oil flow, Mr. Kissinger did not say which leaders would propose ending the ban, but it was reported that King Faisal of Saudi Arabia had told President Nixon that he would support the move.
Arab leaders are reportedly linking a lifting of the oil embargo to progress in achieving a pullback of Israeli forces from the Golan Heights in Syria. In Damascus, where Syria's leaders are discussing their position, there is said to be disagreement whether to settle for an Israeli withdrawal from territory captured last October or to insist on a pullback to pre-1967 lines.
Israel's top leaders have indicated a willingness to withdraw from Syrian territory captured in October as part of a troop separation agreement to be negotiated with Syria similar to the one now being carried out with Egypt. The leaders hope that this offer, communicated in recent public statements, will induce Syria's President, Hafez al-Assad, to overcome domestic opposition to negotiations with Israel.
[New York Times] - Senator Hugh Scott leads President Nixon's supporters in his belief that evidence exists to refute John Dean's testimony and prove the innocence of the President in the Watergate scandal. Supposedly the special prosecutor's office has that same evidence, however the prosecutor's office insists that no evidence exists to refute Dean.
That statement came unexpectedly during former White House appointments secretary Dwight Chapin's request for a change of venue for his trial. Dean is to be the chief prosecution witness in Chapin's trial. Dean's attorney demanded that Judge Gerhard Gesell be given any information surrounding Dean's possible perjured testimony. Prosecutor Richard Davis then revealed that no basis exists for perjury charges against Dean. Later, Nixon lawyer James St. Clair hinted that the White House may stop giving tapes to prosecutors. He stated his hope that the White House could work with the prosecutor's office, but no promises were made.
[CBS] - The House Judiciary Committee voted unanimously to ask the full House for subpoena power in its impeachment probe of President Nixon. Committee counsel John Doar requested a resolution to give the committee power to call the President to give testimony. Minority counsel Albert Jenner agreed. [CBS]
- Members of the Senate Watergate Committee refused to accept blame for President Nixon's implication that the Watergate probe has dragged on too long. Senator Sam Ervin criticized the President for refusing to supply information to the committee. Senator Howard Baker stated that the hearings should stop. Baker and Ervin met with special prosecutor Leon Jaworski to discuss the committee's preliminary report. Jaworski believes that report could prejudice upcoming criminal indictments. [CBS]
- The Senate Armed Services Committee will probe alleged spying by the Pentagon on the White House. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Admiral Thomas Moorer will be called as witnesses. [CBS]
- Another sharp increase in farm prices has set the stage for further retail price climbs in the weeks ahead. Led by big rises in the price of meat animals, the Department of Agriculture's monthly index for the period mid-December to mid-January rose from 184 to 200 -- a level exactly double the average for 1967. [New York Times]
- Samuel Goldwyn, one of the last of the pioneer Hollywood producers, died at his Los Angeles home. He was 91 years old and had been in frail health since 1968. [New York Times]
- A Pan American World Airways Boeing 707 crashed and burned during a landing approach at Pago Pago in American Samoa, reportedly killing 95 of the 101 persons who were aboard the flight from New Zealand to the United States. [New York Times]
- Brooklyn will remember today as the day they poured the beer down the drain -- 62,000 gallons of foaming Rheingold dumped into the city's sewers. Why? The brewery is being closed, and the company said it would be too expensive to finish processing the last batch. A total of 3.2 million gallons had been slated for the sluice, but by day's end a prospective buyer was negotiating to acquire the remaining brew. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 855.55 (-6.77, -0.79%)
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* |
| January 30, 1974 | 862.32 | 97.06 | 16.79 |
| January 29, 1974 | 852.32 | 96.01 | 12.85 |
| January 28, 1974 | 853.01 | 96.09 | 13.41 |
| January 25, 1974 | 859.39 | 96.63 | 14.85 |
| January 24, 1974 | 863.08 | 96.82 | 15.98 |
| January 23, 1974 | 871.00 | 97.07 | 16.89 |
| January 22, 1974 | 863.47 | 96.55 | 17.33 |
| January 21, 1974 | 854.63 | 95.40 | 15.63 |
| January 18, 1974 | 855.47 | 95.56 | 16.47 |
| January 17, 1974 | 872.16 | 97.30 | 21.04 |