News stories from Tuesday March 25, 1975

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

King Faisal of Saudi Arabia was assassinated in Riyadh by a nephew who had a history of mental illness. His brother, Crown Prince Khalid, succeeded him on the throne. Another brother, Prince Fahd, was named Crown Prince and is expected to be the real political power in the country. The assassination appeared to be an individual act, with no change in the military and security support for the monarchy. [New York Times] In Washington, administration officials said King Faisal's death had removed a major force of political moderation in the Middle East. The predominant State Department view was that the new king's heart trouble made it likely he would leave the running of the country to Prince Fahd, regarded as a sound business-like leader with a relatively relaxed approach to life. They were not expected to match King Faisal's influence in the Arab world. [New York Times] The northern city of Hue, the cultural heart of South Vietnam. was abandoned by the Saigon government's forces, The fate of Da Nang, the nation's second largest city 50 miles to the southeast, appeared imperiled, coming under rocket attack. [New York Times] South Vietnamese troops preparing to defend the Mekong Delta, considered the economic heart of the country, lack fuel for their helicopters and are short of ammunition and even hand grenades. Officers in Can Tho, the major delta city, say these critical shortages leave the area increasingly vulnerable. [New York Times] President Ford directed the Army Chief of Staff, Gen. Frederick Weyand, to fly to Saigon to assess the military situation and recommend whether any further American assistance is needed. The White House said Mr. Ford wanted to tell the South Vietnamese of the President's strong support and all-out effort to persuade Congress to give more aid. [New York Times] Secretary of State Kissinger said at a closed session of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that President Anwar Sadat of Egypt had sent word that as a result of the breakdown in talks with Israel he would agree to extend the United Nations peace-keeping force in Sinai only for a few months instead of the usual six-month renewal. Mr. Kissinger was reported to have said this meant that a flash point could develop by July. The force's present mandate expires April 24. [New York Times] The joint Senate-House conference committee on the antirecession tax-cut bill agreed that all taxpayers should receive a 1974 tax rebate of at least $100, or of the total amount paid if under $100. The impact of decisions made thus far in reconciling House and Senate versions would eliminate $6.6 billion from the $30.6 billion of the Senate proposal. The House version would have produced a $17.6 billion cut. [New York Times] The Interstate Commerce Commission, reversing its Jan. 30 stand, granted a 7 percent freight rate increase to most of the nation's railroads. The new decision said the railroads needed additional revenue to offset recently incurred operating costs and improve earnings. Without it, the I.C.C. said, earnings would be too low "to provide adequate and efficient" service. Products from some depressed industries including motor vehicles and parts, lumber and sugar beets, were exempted. The increase is expected to cost shippers $449 million a year, part of which will be passed on to consumers. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 747.89 (+4.46, +0.60%)
S&P Composite: 82.06 (+0.64, +0.79%)
Arms Index: 0.54

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	700	10.71
Declines	657	5.38
Unchanged	419	2.41
Total Volume		18.50

* 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*
March 24, 1975	743.43	81.42	17.81
March 21, 1975	763.06	83.39	15.94
March 20, 1975	764.00	83.61	20.96
March 19, 1975	769.48	84.34	19.03
March 18, 1975	779.41	85.13	29.16
March 17, 1975	786.53	86.01	26.78
March 14, 1975	773.47	84.76	24.84
March 13, 1975	762.98	83.74	18.62
March 12, 1975	763.69	83.59	21.56
March 11, 1975	770.89	84.36	31.28