News stories from Tuesday April 12, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The prison term of G. Gordon Liddy was commuted from 20 to eight years by President Carter, making the last of the original Watergate burglary defendants who is in jail eligible for parole in July. The President, a spokesman said, acted "in the interest of equity and fairness, based on a comparison of Mr. Liddy's sentence with those of all others convicted in Watergate-related prosecutions." [New York Times]
- A strike against seven major ship lines, to begin at 12:01 A.M. Thursday, was announced by the International Longshoremen's Association, A walkout would drastically cut North Atlantic trade with Europe, company sources said. The dispute involves contract demands and the handling of containerized shipments. [New York Times]
- President Carter will propose that consumers should eventually pay for domestic oil and natural gas at least the same high price set by the world oil cartel, administration and congressional sources said. They also said that Mr. Carter's energy program, to be presented to Congress next week, is likely to recommend a rise in the 4-cents-a-gallon federal tax on gasoline if Americans fail to start conserving gasoline. [New York Times]
- A "decisive" energy conservation effort was urged by Arthur Burns, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. In his first major address on international issues since the Arab oil embargo of 1973-74, Dr. Burns warned that failure to adopt new rules for the world financial system would risk making it "vulnerable" to a new recession. [New York Times]
- Stock prices rallied dramatically and unexpectedly in their strongest advance in six months. The surge was marked by its broad scope and heavy volume of 23.76 million shares. The Dow Jones industrials climbed 13.06 points to 937.16. Analysts said the recovery had been aided by encouraging developments on bonds and improving prospects for some major companies. [New York Times]
- Almost 5,000 opponents of opening Kennedy Airport to the Concorde airliner held packed rallies in high schools in Queens and Nassau Counties in New York. The crowds cheered as political and community leaders assailed the supersonic jet and the Port Authority, which has again postponed a decision on whether to lift its ban on the plane. [New York Times]
- A federal agent charged that a 24-year-old Californian had acknowledged passing to the Soviet Union ''the contents of thousands of documents" from his former employer, the TRW Systems Inc. The company is one of the C.I.A.'s main sources for clandestine reconnaissance satellites. Testimony and government allegations at the start of the espionage trial of the accused man, Christopher Boyce, indicated a large leakage of data about some of the country's most sensitive intelligence-gathering technology. [New York Times]
- A hearing on a proposal to desegregate city schools in Los Angeles next fall was recessed by a federal judge who pointed out that similar plans in other cities had been ruled unconstitutional. The judge, Paul Egly, expressed "very strong doubts" about the plan. [New York Times]
- Philip Wrigley, chairman of the Wrigley chewing gum company and owner of the Chicago Cubs baseball team, died at the age of 82. He was stricken by a gastro-intestinal hemorrhage while watching his baseball team on television. [New York Times]
- Zaire will receive from the United States $13 million in "non-lethal" military equipment to help it combat an invasion by Katangan exiles from Angola, the State Department announced. A request by Zaire for additional aid has been denied, a spokesman said. He denied that Washington was coordinating the aid with other countries.
In confining itself to sending Zaire non-combat supplies, the United States seemed to be signaling a new policy of disengagement and reserve toward Africa. At the same time, Belgium is airlifting arms and France is transporting weapons and Moroccan troops to aid the Zaire government.
[New York Times] - The future of the B-1 bomber program now hinges on the progress of talks with the Russians on limiting strategic arms, according to administration and military officials. President Carter has postponed until June a decision on whether to approve full production of the B-1, but some officials indicate there may be a further delay. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 937.16 (+13.06, +1.41%)
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* |
| April 11, 1977 | 924.10 | 98.88 | 17.65 |
| April 7, 1977 | 918.88 | 98.35 | 17.26 |
| April 6, 1977 | 914.73 | 97.91 | 16.66 |
| April 5, 1977 | 916.14 | 98.01 | 18.33 |
| April 4, 1977 | 915.56 | 98.23 | 16.25 |
| April 1, 1977 | 927.36 | 99.21 | 17.05 |
| March 31, 1977 | 919.13 | 98.42 | 16.51 |
| March 30, 1977 | 921.21 | 98.54 | 18.81 |
| March 29, 1977 | 932.01 | 99.69 | 17.03 |
| March 28, 1977 | 926.11 | 99.00 | 16.71 |