News stories from Tuesday February 3, 1976
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Ford took what he called a moderate position on abortion, saying the Supreme Court "went too far" in striking down laws against it, but that he opposed restoring abortion limits through a constitutional amendment. He said the only federal remedy he could endorse would be an amendment giving states more authority to restrict abortions than they have under the 1973 Supreme Court ruling. [New York Times]
- A memorandum prepared in the President's Office of Management and Budget shows an item of $3 billion labeled "cut insurance" in its recommendation to Mr. Ford to set military spending authority at $110 billion for the fiscal year 1977. Spokesmen for the office and for the Pentagon denied any padding. [New York Times]
- The Chrysler Corporation announced it would buy four-cylinder engines and axle transmissions from Volkswagen for Chrysler's 1978 model subcompact with front wheel drive. The agreement will save Chrysler about $100 million in plant costs. The United Automobile Workers has expressed concern about the effect of such agreements on employment in the United States. [New York Times]
- The nation's crude death rate in 1974 was 9.2 for each 1,000 persons in the population, the lowest yet recorded, according to final figures released by the National Center for Health Statistics. Provisional figures for 1975 through November give an even lower rate of 9. [New York Times]
- The director of the Federal Reserve's Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation said it is giving more than normal supervisory attention to 63 bank holding companies. Brenton Leavitt, testifying before the House Subcommittee on Commerce, Consumer and Monetary Affairs, said the adjective "problem" as applied to banks overstated its seriousness. [New York Times]
- Failure to achieve a new Soviet-American agreement curbing strategic arms could mean the need for an additional $20 billion build-up over the next five years, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger said in a San Francisco speech. He urged a long-term policy "combining firmness and conciliation, strong defense and arms control, political principles and economic incentives," and said the American public's attitude toward Russia fluctuated too much between extremes of conciliation and hostility. He denounced anew the failure of Congress to support countermoves against Soviet involvement in Angola. [New York Times]
- Leonid Plyushch, a dissident mathematician recently released from a Soviet mental hospital, described in Paris the attempts he said were made since 1972 to break down his political beliefs. He said he was still recovering from his experiences, which included often being drugged into apathy. He was released and allowed to leave the Soviet Union after worldwide protests. [New York Times]
- The economic growth rate of Iran, which has suffered a sharp drop in oil revenues, has shrunk by 60 percent since last spring, the country's chief planner said in Teheran, and the budget envisages a $2.4 billion deficit in the next 12 months. The military expenditures are budgeted at slightly over $8 billion, which is 8 percent more than in the preceding year. [New York Times]
|
Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 972.61 (+1.26, +0.13%)
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 2, 1976 | 971.35 | 100.87 | 24.00 |
| January 30, 1976 | 975.28 | 100.86 | 38.51 |
| January 29, 1976 | 968.75 | 100.11 | 29.80 |
| January 28, 1976 | 951.35 | 98.53 | 27.37 |
| January 27, 1976 | 957.81 | 99.07 | 32.07 |
| January 26, 1976 | 961.51 | 99.68 | 39.64 |
| January 23, 1976 | 953.95 | 99.21 | 33.64 |
| January 22, 1976 | 943.48 | 98.04 | 27.42 |
| January 21, 1976 | 946.24 | 98.24 | 34.47 |
| January 20, 1976 | 949.86 | 98.86 | 36.69 |