News stories from Tuesday November 26, 1974

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

President Ford sent Congress a revised budget for the year ending next June 30 that would cut federal spending by $4.6 billion. He said steeper reductions would be unwise. Programs administered by the Health, Education and Welfare Department and the Veterans Administration would be most affected. However, congressional leaders said it was highly unlikely that any significant portion of the proposed reductions would be approved. [New York Times] The United States achieved a small surplus in foreign trade in October, its first since April. A surge in exports, up 36 percent so far this year, tipped the balance. There is a deficit of $2.3 billion so far this year caused entirely by higher prices of oil imports. Average cost of a barrel of imported oil was $11.50 last month, compared with $3.50 a year earlier. [New York Times] Former Attorney General John Mitchell took the witness stand in his own defense at the Watergate cover-up trial. He denied approving the Watergate break-in in advance and said that when he heard of its link later to the Committee for the Re-election of the President he withheld the information because of his belief in Mr. Nixon at that time. [New York Times] The House Rules Committee, by an 8 to 6 vote, blocked the omnibus legislation to restructure the securities market from floor consideration, virtually foreclosing action at the current session. The measure to end fixed brokerage commission rates and give more authority to the Securities and Exchange Commission had been requested by the White House. [New York Times] President Ford signed a six-year, $11.8 billion measure to aid mass transit that Mayor Beame of New York City said would save the 35-cent fare here through 1975. The city's share will be $250 million of the $280 million needed to maintain the fare, and the city and state are committed to making up the deficit. Mayor Beame gave Mr. Ford a pair of gold-plated token cufflinks. [New York Times] President Ford told congressional leaders that his tentative agreement with the Soviet Union on arms control would let each country have 2,400 delivery vehicles for nuclear warheads, authoritative sources reported. Of these, about 1,200 could be equipped to carry the multiple warheads called MIRV's, which could be about equally divided between land-based and sea-based long-range missiles. [New York Times] Secretary of State Kissinger began formal talks in Peking with Chinese officials headed by Deputy Premier Teng Hsiao-ping. Donald Rumsfeld, President Ford's top staff man, was at the Secretary's right. Mr. Kissinger interpreted the recent understanding with the Soviet Union on limiting strategic nuclear arms. There was no indication that the Chinese were annoyed about the Brezhnev-Ford meeting on the outskirts of Vladivostok, which is near the Chinese border. [New York Times] Leonid Brezhnev, the Soviet leader, rejected any pullback of Soviet forces from the border with China as a condition for a nonaggression pact. Speaking in Ulan Bator at the anniversary celebration of the Mongolian People's Republic, he asserted that no Soviet borders with China were disputed territory, as the Chinese contend. He underscored his satisfaction with his Vladivostok meeting with President Ford and the prospect of completing an agreement on offensive strategic weapons. [New York Times] The Shell Oil Company is negotiating an agreement with Iran that could result in a major Iranian investment in the company's Eastern seaboard gasoline stations, joint construction of a refinery in Iran, and long-term assurances of delivery of Iranian oil for Shell. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 617.26 (+5.32, +0.87%)
S&P Composite: 69.47 (+0.64, +0.93%)
Arms Index: 0.65

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	795	7.74
Declines	544	3.43
Unchanged	464	2.43
Total Volume		13.60

* 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*
November 25, 1974	611.94	68.83	11.30
November 22, 1974	615.30	68.90	13.02
November 21, 1974	608.57	68.18	13.82
November 20, 1974	609.59	67.90	12.43
November 19, 1974	614.05	68.20	15.72
November 18, 1974	624.92	69.27	15.23
November 15, 1974	647.61	71.91	12.48
November 14, 1974	658.40	73.06	13.54
November 13, 1974	659.18	73.35	16.04
November 12, 1974	659.18	73.67	15.04