News stories from Wednesday March 24, 1976

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

Ronald Reagan is planning a television address next week to "redefine the contest" with President Ford for the Republican nomination, according to his strategists. They said he would seek to retake the initiative as an "anti-establishment" candidate and to stir opposition to Mr. Ford's foreign policies. Cheered by Mr. Reagan's North Carolina upset victory, they plan to keep his challenge credible through April to the May primaries in Texas and other states where his prospects are better. [New York Times] The Supreme Court ruled that blacks who were denied jobs in violation of the 1964 Civil Rights Act must be awarded seniority status after being hired retroactive to the date of job denial. In the Court's first ruling on so-called reverse discrimination, it held that whites must share with blacks the burden of past discrimination in employment, as they already must in schools. [New York Times] The Senate approved overwhelmingly a bill to reconstitute the Federal Election Commission and make many changes in the controversial campaign law. The House is scheduled to debate it next week. There was some evidence that if the House passed it without extensive rewriting, President Ford would sign it. [New York Times] President Ford called for a nationwide campaign to vaccinate everyone who wants it against a new influenza virus to forestall epidemics next fall and winter. He said he would ask a $135 million appropriation to provide the vaccine. The vaccination effort would he the largest ever attempted in this country, involving public health forces at every level, and private groups. [New York Times] Tax fraud charges against Sweden's famous film director, Ingmar Bergman, were dropped by the public prosecutor's office in Stockholm as lacking any basis for further investigation. His sudden arrest had been followed by what the director's friends called a nervous breakdown, and friends say they have never seen him so listless. [New York Times] Military action to overthrow President Isabel Martinez de Peron was under way early today in Argentina. She refused to resign and awaited developments in the Casa Rosada, the Government House. The General Confederation of Labor, the only possible source of organized resistance, said the military were making a "tragic mistake" but gave no order for a general strike. General Jorge Rafael Videla, the army commander, is expected to head a junta with other military leaders. [New York Times] The three commanders of Argentina's armed forces took office in Buenos Aires as a governing junta 10 hours after overthrowing and arresting President Isabel Martinez de Peron. The only resistance was a brief shooting incident at a union headquarters. Numerous Peronist union leaders and political figures were being arrested. Mrs. Peron, who refused to resign under military pressure, was flown to a provincial resort. The immediate reaction of workers, most of whom are Peronists, was calm and noncommittal. [New York Times] Washington reporters are being told that even if a new agreement with the Soviet Union limiting strategic arms is reached this year, it is more and more possible that Leonid Brezhnev will not come to the United States to sign it. The Ford administration has reportedly reached this conclusion because of the strains in Soviet-American relations over Angola. [New York Times] Israel complained to the United States in Washington over the criticism of Israeli policy in occupied territories voiced in the United Nations Security Council by William Scranton, the American delegate. Mr. Scranton called Israeli settlements in Arab territory an obstacle to peace. The State Department said his remarks on this and the annexation of East Jerusalem were similar to those made by three predecessors. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1009.21 (+13.78, +1.38%)
S&P Composite: 103.42 (+1.18, +1.15%)
Arms Index: 0.80

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	1,081	21.43
Declines	452	7.21
Unchanged	359	3.97
Total Volume		32.61

* 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*
March 23, 1976	995.43	102.24	22.45
March 22, 1976	982.29	100.71	19.41
March 19, 1976	979.85	100.58	18.09
March 18, 1976	979.85	100.45	20.33
March 17, 1976	985.99	100.86	26.19
March 16, 1976	983.47	100.92	22.78
March 15, 1976	974.50	99.80	19.57
March 12, 1976	987.64	100.86	26.02
March 11, 1976	1003.31	101.89	27.30
March 10, 1976	995.28	100.94	25.90