News stories from Friday August 6, 1976

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

The Labor Department said that the national unemployment rate rose substantially in July to 7.8 percent of the total labor force despite a big increase in the number of people with jobs, It explained the apparent paradox this way: Since the department began compiling employment statistics, the largest proportion of the population was recently in the labor force, at work or looking for work. Most of the increase in unemployment was among people who have been out of work for fewer than five weeks, which includes new job seekers. [New York Times] The Senate passed the longest and most complicated tax bill in two decades last night. Among its major provisions, the bill keeps the 1975 tax cuts intact for both individuals and businesses, reduces the estate tax and provides a tax credit against a small portion of the cost of higher education. The bill now goes to a Senate-House conference committee, which will attempt to compromise the big differences between the Senate and House versions of the bill. [New York Times] There were two more deaths caused by the outbreak of the mysterious respiratory disease in Pennsylvania, bringing the total to 25. Medical investigators increased their efforts to find a chemical or poison as the possible origin of the illness. In diagnosing the illness, Dr. Leonard Bachman, the Pennsylvania Health Secretary, eliminated more general and nonspecific flu-like symptoms, and narrowed the indications to a temperature of 102 degrees and cough, or a fever and X-ray evidence of pneumonia in any person who had been associated with the American Legion Convention in Philadelphia last month. [New York Times] South African police riot squads opened fire in Soweto in an attempt to break up crowds of youths who roamed the black township, attacking cars, buses and trains in a continuing effort to keep black workers from their jobs in Johannesburg. On the third day of disturbances, the official toll was 4 dead and 30 wounded. A national police alert was ordered following reports of arson and stone throwing from widely scattered other townships. [New York Times] The International Red Cross halted its rescue operation at the Palestinian camp of Tell Zaatar in Lebanon when hundreds of people swarmed out of the camp toward the Red Cross trucks and were fired upon by snipers. [New York Times] Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi denied that Iran was having difficulties in handling a vast number of modern weapons from the United States and told American reporters that Washington must continue to sell arms to his country or risk instability and war in the Middle East. [New York Times] After more than a year of mutual recriminations, Vietnam and Thailand agreed to establish diplomatic relations. The agreement completes Vietnam's diplomatic reconciliation with non-Communist nations in Southeast Asia. The agreement includes a number of commitments relating to air routes, trade and repatriation of Vietnamese refugees. But there was no mention of the principal demand that Thai military leaders had insisted on -- that Vietnam guarantee that it would give no military aid or advice to Communist insurgents in Thailand. [New York Times] Gregor Piatigorsky, the cello virtuoso whose only peers as master of the instrument were Pablo Casals and Mstislav Rostropovich, died at his home in Los Angeles at the age of 73. He had been ill for a year and a half. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 986.00 (-0.68, -0.07%)
S&P Composite: 103.79 (-0.06, -0.06%)
Arms Index: 0.95

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	646	5.38
Declines	723	5.74
Unchanged	477	2.81
Total Volume		13.93

* 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*
August 5, 1976	986.68	103.85	15.53
August 4, 1976	992.28	104.43	20.65
August 3, 1976	990.33	104.14	18.50
August 2, 1976	982.26	103.19	13.87
July 30, 1976	984.64	103.44	14.83
July 29, 1976	979.29	102.93	13.33
July 28, 1976	981.33	103.05	16.00
July 27, 1976	984.13	103.48	15.58
July 26, 1976	991.51	104.07	13.53
July 23, 1976	990.91	104.06	15.87