News stories from Friday October 20, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Henry Kissinger met again today with President Thieu of South Vietnam; Thieu still opposes a coalition government with Communist participation. President Nixon has reportedly refused a proposal for a cease-fire before the U.S. elections, but a French reporter said that North Vietnam and the U.S. have agreed on a cease-fire which will be announced in 10 days.
North Vietnam may make the secret Kissinger Paris talks public. In Prague, Belgrade, Bucharest, Berlin and Warsaw, North Vietnamese diplomats gave leaders briefings on the talks. North Vietnam is trying to show that President Thieu is the obstacle to Vietnam peace.
[CBS] - The French mission in Hanoi was damaged by U.S. bombs last week; the French delegation's chief envoy Pierre Susini died of injuries he suffered there. The Defense Department has now admitted blame for the incident. [CBS]
- Communist troops previously cut Highway 1 northeast of Saigon. A shortage of vegetables has resulted in Saigon; prices have tripled. [CBS]
- President Nixon signed the revenue sharing bill today at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The bill will give state and local governments $32 billion in federal revenue and begin a new era of decentralization of government. President Kennedy's economic adviser Walter Heller first authored the measure, and President Johnson created a task force to study it. State governments will now be in better financial shape than the federal government. [CBS]
- President Nixon used the revenue sharing bill signing ceremony for political gain. A U.S. Marine band played loudly to drown out protesters, who were kept at a distance. Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo was among the state and local officials who were present. A heckler yelled to stop bombing North Vietnam, and was removed. [CBS]
- Washington, DC judge Paul McCarvell refused to extradite Nixon campaign finance chairman Maurice Stans to Florida to testify in a trial related to the Watergate case. The trial of Bernard Barker, one of the five men who was arrested in the Watergate break-in, must proceed without Stans. Barker is charged with falsely notarizing a campaign check which passed through Stans' hands. Stans said that his presence isn't necessary to the case and that he needs to be in Washington for the 12 days preceding the election. Stans says that Watergate has been blown out of perspective by the Democrats for political purposes, and he believes the American public recognizes that. [CBS]
- The cost of living continues to rise, as the consumer price index increased 0.4% in September. The rise has been 3.5% since President Nixon's price controls went into effect 10 months ago. Dr. Marina Whitman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers reiterated that the Nixon administration is working to reduce inflation. [CBS]
- An Air Force helicopter is en route to the reported sighting of a plane wreckage on the Alaskan coast. Rep. Hale Boggs and three others have been missing since Monday. [CBS]
- The leaders of nine European Common Market nations are meeting in Paris. Economist Elliot Janeway says that the European trading bloc could cause interest and tax rates in the United States to rise. Leon Kaiserling sees new markets for the U.S. with a stronger and richer Europe, as does Walter Heller.
The "American problem" is an issue at the conference. NATO depends on American military power, but the Common Market could become a trading and financial rival to the United States. The conference is being held to draft a common European economic position with which to confront the United States. West German Chancellor Willy Brandt called for cooperation between the U.S. and Europe; the French and British want Europe to take a more independent line.
[CBS] - 25 East German women who are engaged to marry West German men were given permission to move to West Germany. Their 18 children were also permitted to go. [CBS]
- Chile's labor crisis has worsened. Airplanes and buses have stopped running in Santiago and the general strike has increased, protesting President Salvador Allende's Marxist government. [CBS]
- In the New Mexico Senate race, Republican Pete Domenici may take the Senate seat away from Democrats who have held it for decades; incumbent Clinton Anderson is retiring. Democrat Jack Daniels is the logical successor, but New Mexico Democrats don't like McGovern. Daniels isn't mentioning McGovern in his speeches, while Domenici praises President Nixon. [CBS]
- The Aztec, N.M., school board banned the use of rubber hoses for disciplining grade school students. A leather strap will be used instead. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 942.81 (+10.69, +1.15%)
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* |
| October 19, 1972 | 932.12 | 108.05 | 13.85 |
| October 18, 1972 | 932.34 | 108.19 | 17.29 |
| October 17, 1972 | 926.48 | 107.50 | 13.41 |
| October 16, 1972 | 921.66 | 106.77 | 10.94 |
| October 13, 1972 | 930.46 | 107.92 | 12.87 |
| October 12, 1972 | 937.46 | 108.60 | 13.13 |
| October 11, 1972 | 946.42 | 109.50 | 11.90 |
| October 10, 1972 | 951.84 | 109.99 | 13.31 |
| October 9, 1972 | 948.75 | 109.90 | 7.94 |
| October 6, 1972 | 945.36 | 109.62 | 16.63 |