News stories from Friday January 9, 1976

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

The number of persons with jobs and the length of the average workweek rose strongly in December but the unemployment rate remained unchanged at 8.3 percent of the work force. This was regarded by experts, both in and out of government, as definite evidence that the recovery was continuing without interruption, despite the unchanged unemployment rate. December was the third consecutive month in which there was a significant decline in the number of the unemployed who had been dismissed from their job. Such persons totaled 3.9 million in December and made up 50.5 percent of the unemployed. In September, 4.6 million of the unemployed, or 57.2 percent, had been dismissed from their job. [New York Times] Broad new programs aimed at providing more jobs, more housing and the development of more energy sources will be proposed by President Ford in his State of the Union Message on Jan. 19, a White House official said. Mr. Ford will also call for sharp reductions in foreign aid, cuts in federal employment and the closing of a number of military bases, among other ways of cutting back federal spending. The State of the Union Address and the Budget Message, which will follow two days later, are said to be relied on by Mr. Ford to revive his sagging political prospects. [New York Times] The Wholesale Price Index declined four-tenths of 1 percent in December, reflecting lower prices of raw and processed foods and feeds for the second consecutive month. The Labor Department's monthly report on wholesale prices also showed that prices of industrial commodities were up six-tenths of 1 percent last month. [New York Times] Rogers C. B. Morton, who Is resigning his post as Secretary of Commerce next month, reportedly will be named by President Ford as a White House coordinator of the President's election campaign. William Scranton, a campaign adviser to Mr. Ford, said he understood that Mr. Morton had consented, after first refusing, to take on the full-time duties at the White House. A presidential aide later confirmed the report. Mr. Ford was said to have persuaded Mr. Morton that the Ford campaign needed his political expertise. [New York Times] Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia announced that he would be a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. He is seeking the nomination, he said, to give his state "greater impact" at the party's nominating convention in July. He will also seek re-election to a fourth term in the Senate, where he is the Democratic whip. [New York Times] Foreign diplomats in Peking reported that there was a large gathering in the Great Hall of the People in Peking following the death of Prime Minister Chou En-lai, starting speculation that China's leaders may have already begun discussions on filling the vacancies created by his death. It was announced that Mr. Chou's funeral would be private, a decision that Hsinhua, the Chinese press agency, said had been made "in accordance with China's custom and protocol reform." [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 911.13 (+3.15, +0.35%)
S&P Composite: 94.95 (+0.37, +0.39%)
Arms Index: 0.58

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	923	16.34
Declines	529	5.41
Unchanged	437	4.76
Total Volume		26.51

* 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*
January 8, 1976	907.98	94.58	29.03
January 7, 1976	898.69	93.95	33.17
January 6, 1976	890.82	93.53	31.27
January 5, 1976	877.83	92.58	21.96
January 2, 1976	858.71	90.90	10.30
December 31, 1975	852.41	90.19	16.97
December 30, 1975	852.41	89.77	16.04
December 29, 1975	856.66	90.13	17.07
December 26, 1975	859.81	90.25	10.02
December 24, 1975	851.94	89.46	11.15