News stories from Wednesday February 18, 1976
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The Senate passed by a vote of 60 to 30 the most sweeping overhaul of the foreign military aid bill in more than 20 years. It added an amendment that would bar shipment of American-made weapons to Chile. The bill would increase the authority of Congress to approve the transfer of arms to foreign countries and decrease White House power to allow weapons sales overseas. Senator Hubert Humphrey, floor manager of the bill, said it heralded a new era in controlling the spread of American-made weapons. The similar House of Representatives bill was approved in committee and will probably reach the floor this month. [New York Times]
- Administration sources in Washington said President Ford would shortly announce the appointment of William Scranton to succeed Daniel Patrick Moynihan as chief delegate to the United Nations. The former Pennsylvania Governor is expected to bring a firm but less theatrical style to the American delegation. [New York Times]
- President Ford proposed legislation to make it a felony for government employees to disclose how the Central Intelligence Agency and other federal agencies collect and evaluate their information. The draft bill would extend criminal sanctions to many more individuals than at present, but does not go as far as proposed criminal code reforms now before Congress. The Ford proposal specifically exempts journalists or others who receive such secrets from criminal prosecution, but they could be called on to testify before grand juries on their sources. [New York Times]
- An executive order by President Ford, effective March 1, sharply restricts the power of intelligence agencies to intrude upon the lives and activities of American citizens. The tight new regulations limit physical and electronic surveillance of Americans and bar such practices as burglaries, drug tests on unsuspecting persons and illegal use of tax return information. Infiltration will be limited to groups made up largely of foreign nationals or directly controlled by a foreign government. [New York Times]
- The Environmental Protection Agency ordered an immediate ban on the production of virtually all pesticides containing mercury. Its chief, Russell Train, cited cases of nervous system disorders caused by mercury poisoning in Japan, Iran and the United States, as evidence of an unreasonable hazard to human health. [New York Times]
- Legislation to continue the Federal Election Commission was proposed by Representative Wayne Hays, the Ohio Democrat who had been its leading congressional critic. He said President Ford had agreed to support most of his plans. [New York Times]
- The Phillips Petroleum Company, identified earlier as having made illegal contributions to the 1972 re-election campaign of President Richard Nixon, settled a class action stockholders' suit by agreeing to significant administrative changes following the slush-fund disclosures. The company will change the balance on its board from an overwhelming majority of insiders to at least 60 percent outside directors. [New York Times]
- A federal grand jury in Chicago charged 23 manufacturers of folding paperboard boxes with criminal conspiracy to fix prices. The indicted companies were said to control annual production worth $1 billion, or about 70 percent of the industry's output. Fifty present or former executives of the companies are individual defendants. [New York Times]
- President Isabel Martinez de Peron, facing threats of impeachment or a military overthrow, announced she would not seek re-election but insisted on finishing her term ending next May as Argentina's chief of state. This eased the crisis created by her decision Monday to cut short a special session of Congress in which opponents were planning to declare her "unfit." [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 960.09 (+9.52, +1.00%)
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 17, 1976 | 950.57 | 99.05 | 25.46 |
| February 13, 1976 | 958.36 | 99.67 | 23.87 |
| February 12, 1976 | 966.78 | 100.25 | 28.61 |
| February 11, 1976 | 971.90 | 100.77 | 32.30 |
| February 10, 1976 | 968.75 | 100.47 | 27.66 |
| February 9, 1976 | 957.18 | 99.62 | 25.34 |
| February 6, 1976 | 954.90 | 99.46 | 27.36 |
| February 5, 1976 | 964.81 | 100.39 | 33.78 |
| February 4, 1976 | 976.62 | 101.91 | 38.27 |
| February 3, 1976 | 972.61 | 101.18 | 34.08 |