News stories from Wednesday February 26, 1975

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

Defense Secretary James Schlesinger believes that Cambodia will fall whether or not Congress approves emergency aid. Secretary of State Kissinger reasons that with American aid the Phnom Penh government's chances for survival waver between zero and 50-50. Both believe Cambodia's collapse would be a setback but not a disaster for American foreign policy as long as aid has not been halted, leaving the United States open to blame. On Vietnam, however, both are reliably known to feel that the fate of the Saigon regime is still vital to the interests of the United States. [New York Times] President Ford, in a news conference in Hollywood, Fla., spoke out against Arab attempts to discriminate against financial "institutions or individuals on religious or ethnic grounds" and said that "such discrimination is totally contrary to American tradition and repugnant to American principles." He made these remarks in his opening statement and did not mention the boycott as such. He said any allegation of discrimination would be fully investigated and appropriate action taken under the laws of the United States. [New York Times] President Ford told newsmen in Florida that at the rate Congress is moving on a tax cut to stimulate the economy, the measure may not reach his desk until June. He said the only further step he could take to reduce unemployment would be to agree to a larger tax cut than he proposed Jan. 15. He said that when the Democrats in Congress had agreed on a conservation plan for energy he would be glad to negotiate a compromise with them. [New York Times] A new compromise on the filibuster rule in the Senate was proposed by Mike Mansfield, the Democratic leader, and Russell Long, Democrat of Louisiana. They suggested that the vote of 60 percent of the total membership should be sufficient to cut off debate. That would mean, assuming there were no vacancies, that it would take 60 votes to invoke closure. The present rule requires two-thirds of those present and voting. [New York Times] Egyptian officials, who are proclaiming confidence that Secretary of State Kissinger will succeed in getting Israel to withdraw from the Sinai passes and oilfields, are at the same time continuing tough bargaining in Cairo with the American ambassador. The official Egyptian optimism is based largely on the belief that the United States has decided to induce Israeli concessions with new economic and military assistance. [New York Times] The United States Railway Association, a government agency set up to reorganize the bankrupt railroads of the Northeast, announced its preliminary plan. It would strip away unprofitable freight routes and invest more than $7 billion in public and private funds in rehabilitation. The largest corporate restructuring in the nation's history would include establishing a Consolidated Rail Corporation from bankrupt lines, except for some that would be taken over by two solvent lines, Norfolk & Western and the Chessie System. Conrail and the two other systems would compete. But Norfolk & Western said the plan needed continuing government financial support. The Senate interrupted a filibuster to pass emergency aid for the Penn Central, Erie Lackawanna and other lines. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 728.10 (+8.92, +1.24%)
S&P Composite: 80.37 (+0.84, +1.06%)
Arms Index: 0.63

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	854	11.79
Declines	554	4.84
Unchanged	376	2.17
Total Volume		18.80

* 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*
February 25, 1975	719.18	79.53	20.91
February 24, 1975	736.94	81.44	19.15
February 21, 1975	749.77	82.62	24.44
February 20, 1975	745.38	82.21	22.26
February 19, 1975	736.39	81.44	22.19
February 18, 1975	731.30	80.93	23.99
February 14, 1975	734.20	81.50	23.29
February 13, 1975	726.92	81.01	35.16
February 12, 1975	715.03	79.92	19.79
February 11, 1975	707.50	78.58	16.47