News stories from Friday December 5, 1975
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- It appeared from the government statistics that the employment market has not deteriorated, but it has not improved much, either. The Labor Department said that the nation's unemployment rate declined slightly in November, following a rise in October, and seems to have been "on a virtual plateau" for the last six months. The decline in November brought the number of unemployed persons down to 7.7 million from 8 million in October. The monthly overall unemployment rate declined to 8.3 percent from 8.6 percent. [New York Times]
- The federal grand jury in Detroit that is investigating the disappearance of James Hoffa is looking into the possibility that his body was put into a 55-gallon steel drum and shipped from a Detroit trucking terminal. Employees of a shipping company were called to testify. [New York Times]
- Pentagon officials believe that the size of next year's defense budget now depends in a large measure on a political chess game being played between two young and ambitious officials -- Donald Rumsfeld, the new Secretary of Defense, and James Lynn, director of the White House Office of Management and Budget. Mr. Lynn, who has proposed reductions to President Ford, appears to have the upper hand now. [New York Times]
- A new dispute over shipping rates appears to have jeopardized renewal of the grain shipment agreement between the United States and the Soviet Union, Robert Blackwell, Assistant Secretary of Commerce, said that Soviet officials were unwilling to pay above-market rates for grain shipments by American vessels after Dec. 31. During their extremely bad harvest, the Russians agreed in September to pay at least $16 a ton for grain shipments by American ships. The market rate was about $10 a ton. The September agreement was to have been extended through 1976 after the negotiation of a new, comprehensive Soviet-American maritime accord. [New York Times]
- The United States told the United Nations Security Council that while it would "neither condone nor excuse" Israel's air attacks on Lebanese territory last Tuesday, it wanted any resolution of condemnation to denounce all acts of violence in the Middle East. This statement from Daniel Patrick Moynihan was made after five third-world countries introduced a draft resolution that would condemn Israel "for its premeditated air attacks" and would warn that any repetition would bring consideration of other "appropriate steps." Mr. Moynihan's remarks were widely interpreted as a hint that the United States was prepared to veto any resolution that did not also condemn violence such as guerrilla attacks in Israel. [New York Times]
- King Juan Carlos I of Spain decided to keep Carlos Arias Navarro as Prime Minister, a move that seemed to satisfy rightists and to disturb liberals and leftists. When the King's decision was announced to the cabinet, the 19 ministers offered their resignations to Mr. Arias, who is expected to make major cabinet changes. [New York Times]
- Britain announced the end of its controversial policy of detaining terrorist suspects in Northern Ireland without trial, and released the last of 46 persons who had been under detention at Maze Prison near Belfast. Merlyn Reel, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, said, "As from today no one is held under a detention order." [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 818.80 (-10.31, -1.24%)
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* |
| December 4, 1975 | 829.11 | 87.84 | 16.38 |
| December 3, 1975 | 825.49 | 87.60 | 21.32 |
| December 2, 1975 | 843.20 | 89.33 | 17.93 |
| December 1, 1975 | 856.34 | 90.57 | 16.05 |
| November 28, 1975 | 860.67 | 91.24 | 12.87 |
| November 26, 1975 | 858.55 | 90.94 | 18.78 |
| November 25, 1975 | 855.40 | 90.71 | 17.49 |
| November 24, 1975 | 845.64 | 89.70 | 13.93 |
| November 21, 1975 | 840.76 | 89.53 | 14.11 |
| November 20, 1975 | 843.51 | 89.64 | 16.46 |