News stories from Wednesday May 29, 1974

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

The House Judiciary Committee completed its closed hearings on the Watergate cover-up, leaving the members divided and uncertain over whether the evidence implicated President Nixon in any impeachable misconduct. Several Democrats said that what one called "a prima-facie case" had been made against the President. But several Republicans agreed with a colleague who called the case "not overwhelming." [New York Times] Senator William Fulbright's defeat in the Arkansas Democratic primary could produce a leadership shift in two of the Senate's most important committees, Foreign Relations and Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Senator John Sparkman is in line to succeed Mr. Fulbright as chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, but if he does, Senator Sparkman would have to relinquish his chairmanship of the banking committee, which would go to Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin. [New York Times] The House of Representatives voted to let the Office of Economic Opportunity die on June 30, but to transfer most of the few remaining O.E.O. programs to a new Community Action Administration program. [New York Times] A federal grand jury is reportedly investigating allegations that employees of the Security National Bank, based in Hempstead, Long Island, were required to contribute to a secret political fund when they were promoted. Justice Department sources said records of the secret fund were destroyed when the investigation began earlier this year. [New York Times] Israel and Syria agreed on an accord to separate their forces on the Golan Heights. Syrian and Israeli military officers are to sign the accord in Geneva on Friday, the first time the two governments have formally agreed on anything since the armistice that ended the Israeli war of independence in 1948. Secretary of State Kissinger, who worked out the agreement in a month of intensive personal diplomacy, plans to leave for home tomorrow. [New York Times] President Nixon declared that the Syrian-Israeli accord would be followed by further United States diplomatic initiatives in the Middle East aimed at establishing a permanent peace. Mr. Nixon, who is planning a trip to the area next month as part of the effort, said the diplomacy would involve all governments in the area. [New York Times] Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko of the Soviet Union flew home from Damascus as the Soviet Union urged an "all-encompassing settlement" of the Arab-Israeli dispute. In a joint statement with the Syrian government, Moscow indicated approval of the disengagement agreement and reported Syrian support for Soviet involvement in future negotiations. [New York Times] Israeli officials regard the accord as the best possible agreement Israel could hope to negotiate under difficult circumstances. They feel that it promises a cease-fire and an early return of prisoners but that it gives little hope for an end to the old hostility.In Syria, where information about the accord was limited, there was talk of disengagement as a development that could lead to real peace. But only a few high officials knew the details and there was no official comment. [New York Times] The general strike that crippled Northern Ireland and toppled the provincial coalition government was called off by its organizers, who urged a "phased" return to work. A few hours later in London the British government announced that a form of direct rule was being imposed on the province. The Ulster Workers Council called for an end of the strike less than a day after achieving one of its main objectives, the collapse of the provincial government, but it did not get a promise of new elections that it had demanded from Britain. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 795.37 (-18.93, -2.32%)
S&P Composite: 86.89 (-1.48, -1.67%)
Arms Index: 1.79

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	315	1.48
Declines	1,100	9.27
Unchanged	362	1.55
Total Volume		12.30

* 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*
May 28, 1974	814.30	88.37	10.58
May 24, 1974	816.65	88.58	13.74
May 23, 1974	805.23	87.29	14.77
May 22, 1974	802.57	87.09	15.45
May 21, 1974	809.53	87.91	12.19
May 20, 1974	812.42	87.86	10.55
May 17, 1974	818.84	88.21	13.87
May 16, 1974	835.34	89.72	12.09
May 15, 1974	846.06	90.45	11.24
May 14, 1974	847.85	90.69	10.88