News stories from Monday April 8, 1974

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

President Nixon signed a bill that will increase the minimum wage for millions of Americans by stages from the present $1.60 to $2.30 an hour. Mr. Nixon, who had vetoed similar legislation last year, said that although he had "some reservations" about this year's bill, "raising the minimum wage is now a matter of justice that can no longer be fairly delayed." For most workers the initial increase to $2 an hour will be made next month. [New York Times] Senator Lowell Weicker, in a sequel to the Senate Watergate hearings, made public documents showing that the White House had frequent access to confidential Internal Revenue Service files on political friends and foes of President Nixon. He told three Senate subcommittees that were holding joint hearings on government surveillance activities that "the I.R.S. was acting like a public lending library for the White House." [New York Times] The impeachment inquiry staff of the House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether fraud may have been involved in President Nixon's handling of his personal income taxes. John Doar, the staff's chief counsel, told committee members that the question of fraud was clearly part of their investigation. He said Internal Revenue Service records dealing with the President's tax matters had been requested along with other tax information. Several committee members have said they would regard any evidence of criminal fraud in the returns as potential grounds for impeachment. [New York Times] The Bankers Trust Company raised its prime rate on loans to corporations to 10 percent and a large New Jersey bank, the Peoples Trust Company, did the same. The basic lending rate had been this high once before -- briefly last fall -- but this time there was some feeling in financial circles that it might go even higher unless it was arrested by political considerations. Stock prices declined following the announcement of the higher prime rate. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 7.58 points and closed at its lowest level since mid-February. [New York Times] The Department of Justice, in a significant display of current antitrust policy, took a direct hand in helping three leading meat packers diversify into other areas. It said that it had joined with Swift & Co., Armour & Co. and the Cudahy Company in asking a federal court judge to modify a 54-year-old consent decree that the three companies had signed. [New York Times] President Nixon's talks with world leaders and his activities on the streets of Paris this weekend brought sharp criticism in France, as well as some grudging acknowledgment of continuing United States power. A letter circulated to journalists in Paris by a high official of the French Ministry said that Mr. Nixon had "shamelessly substituted a publicity campaign for the mourning of an entire nation, introducing an atmosphere of loud feverishness, the discourtesy of which is equaled only by its clumsiness." [New York Times] Prime Minister Wilson of Britain went before the House of Commons in an effort to calm a raging political controversy over property transactions of his private secretary and her family. Mr. Wilson said that Mrs. Marcia Williams, his secretary for 18 years, was not guilty of any wrongdoing, attacked newspapers for "sensationalizing" the property transactions, and denied that he himself had been involved in any way. It was one of his most delicate moments since he came to power five weeks ago. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 839.96 (-7.58, -0.89%)
S&P Composite: 92.03 (-0.98, -1.05%)
Arms Index: 1.34

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	323	1.70
Declines	1,115	7.87
Unchanged	340	1.17
Total Volume		10.74

* 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*
April 5, 1974	847.54	93.01	11.67
April 4, 1974	858.89	94.33	11.65
April 3, 1974	858.03	94.33	11.50
April 2, 1974	846.61	93.35	12.01
April 1, 1974	843.48	93.25	11.47
March 29, 1974	846.68	93.98	12.15
March 28, 1974	854.35	94.82	14.94
March 27, 1974	871.17	96.59	11.69
March 26, 1974	883.68	97.95	11.84
March 25, 1974	881.02	97.64	10.54