News stories from Wednesday September 18, 1974

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

Government officials say thousands of military deserters will be able to return to the United States and receive undesirable discharges without serving any alternative service. One official says the matter was "discussed at great length at the Pentagon" before final approval. A spokesman for the largest group of war resisters in Canada said he did not know how many deserters would take advantage of it. [New York Times] After rejecting a Pan American World Airways request for a $10.2 million federal subsidy, the Ford administration announced an alternate plan aimed at aiding the distressed airline. However, the seven-part plan includes three steps likely to provoke an angry reaction from competing foreign government-operated airlines. [New York Times] Caught between inflation and budget cuts by Congress, the Pentagon finds itself more than $11 billion short of the funds it needs for planned procurement of weapons and materials. And unless there is some budgetary relief, which seems highly unlikely, officials say the Pentagon will have to cut back. [New York Times] In a relatively rare operation, a team of 23 doctors and nurses separated Siamese twins at Children's Hospital in Philadelphia. The prognosis for 13-month-old Clara and Alta Rodriguez of the Dominican Republic was called "excellent" by Dr. C. Everett Koop, the hospital's surgeon in chief and head of the operating team. [New York Times] The political arm of the New York state United Teachers union contributed more than half a million dollars to political candidates in 1972 but did not file the federal reports required by law until this month. And the organization has yet to file statements of expenditures and receipts on the more than $400,000 it has raised for political donations this year. [New York Times] President Ford, in his first address to the United Nations, urged the adoption of a "global strategy for food and energy." He pledged American cooperation with a proposed worldwide system of food reserves and announced that the United States this year will increase funds for food shipments to needy nations. Mr. Ford also called upon the oil-producing nations to define their policy without imposing unacceptable burdens on the international monetary and trade system. [New York Times] The world food crisis has developed rapidly over the last few months from what once seemed to be only another exaggerated doomsday forecast to a reality threatening the lives of millions. While it can be concluded that a world food crisis has begun, there is disagreement, however, on how long it might persist. [New York Times] Britons will vote for a new Parliament on October 10, marking the first time in 50 years that Britain has held two general elections in a year. Prime Minister Harold Wilson came close to being apologetic in calling the election, conceding that very few people want one at a time of such economic crisis. [New York Times] Doomed by deficits and occupied by her crew since last Thursday, the luxury liner France is being taken out of service immediately, according to an announcement by the French Line. The company canceled a final trans-Atlantic round trip and two gala cruises that were to have taken place before her planned retirement Oct. 25. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 651.91 (+3.13, +0.48%)
S&P Composite: 67.72 (+0.34, +0.50%)
Arms Index: 0.92

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	632	4.72
Declines	693	4.75
Unchanged	438	2.30
Total Volume		11.77

* 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*
September 17, 1974	648.78	67.38	13.73
September 16, 1974	639.78	66.26	18.37
September 13, 1974	627.19	65.20	16.07
September 12, 1974	641.74	66.71	16.92
September 11, 1974	654.72	68.55	11.82
September 10, 1974	658.17	69.24	11.98
September 9, 1974	662.94	69.72	11.16
September 6, 1974	677.88	71.42	15.13
September 5, 1974	670.76	70.87	14.21
September 4, 1974	648.00	68.72	16.93