News stories from Thursday October 14, 1976

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

President Ford attacked Jimmy Carter during a televised news conference for "slandering the good name of the United States" by saying the country was not strong and had lost international respect. Mr. Ford also admitted he had made a mistake in saying during the second debate that the Soviet Union did not dominate Eastern Europe. Mr. Ford also stressed the differences between himself and Mr. Carter on government spending and tax policy. [New York Times] Jimmy Carter has regained the lead he held over President Ford, according to a New York Times-CBS News poll, by making Mr. Ford's record the focus of the most recent segment of the campaign. Mr. Carter's emphasis on the President's conduct of foreign policy and his handling of the economy have swung the independent voters to his side, according to the poll. [New York Times] No criminal acts were found by the Watergate special prosecutor's investigation into President Ford's alleged misuse of political contributions from maritime unions. In a statement issued by an aide, the prosecutor, Charles Ruff, said that reviews of the records of the unions and those of Republican committees in Michigan, as well as Mr. Ford's personal finances and tax returns for the years 1967 through 1972, showed no violation of law and that the matter was closed. [New York Times] Swine flu vaccinations have either been already resumed by states that suspended the programs or are expected to be resumed as soon as investigations into the deaths of elderly persons who received the shots are completed. Government health officials said that the investigation so far has produced no evidence to link the vaccine with the deaths. [New York Times] A Federal Court of Appeals reversed a lower-court decision granting an injunction against the sale of leases for offshore oil drilling on the East Coast. The sale had gone on under a stay granted by the appeals court pending a hearing on an environmental dispute. The higher court said in its decision that there was doubt that the opponents of drilling could win if they pressed for a trial. [New York Times] Stock prices resumed their downward trend as the Dow Jones industrial average lost 12.38 points to close at 935.92. Interest rates on short-term government and federal agency securities declined to their lowest levels in four years. [New York Times] Tough new import controls were reportedly under study by the British government after it reported that the trade deficit rose $118 million last month. At the same time, the miners' union threatened a strike, and the pound fell to only a fraction above its record low. [New York Times] Syrian troops almost completely encircled the predominantly Moslem western section of Beirut after pushing through Palestinian positions east and south of the city. House-to-house fighting was reported in Bhamdun, 12 miles east of Beirut, and a Syrian armored column reached Abra, only four miles from Saida, the last Palestinian supply port. [New York Times] Despite gloomy predictions of a deadlock at the Geneva conference on Rhodesia, American officials believe that an agreement on a temporary government for the white-ruled country will be reached before the end of the year. Secretary of State Kissinger believes that after the deadlock the Americans and British will be able to produce a compromise acceptable to both black and white Rhodesians. [New York Times] China's leaders remained silent on reports that at least four senior leftist leaders, including Chairman Mao Tse-tung's widow, Chiang Ching, had been arrested for fabricating a quotation of Mao, while China's information media issued warnings against "conspiracies" and anyone who "tampers" with Mao's words. Wall posters appeared in Shanghai naming the four as members of an "anti-party plot group." [New York Times] The Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to two American medical researchers, Baruch Blumberg of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School and Carleton Gajdusek of the National Institute for Neurological Diseases, for their discoveries about the origin and spread of infectious diseases. The Swedish Royal Academy of Science announced that the Economics Prize would go to Milton Friedman of the University of Chicago. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 935.92 (-12.38, -1.31%)
S&P Composite: 100.85 (-1.27, -1.24%)
Arms Index: 2.66

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	436	2.28
Declines	985	13.72
Unchanged	444	2.61
Total Volume		18.61

* 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*
October 13, 1976	948.30	102.12	21.69
October 12, 1976	932.35	100.81	18.21
October 11, 1976	940.82	101.64	14.62
October 8, 1976	952.38	102.56	16.74
October 7, 1976	965.09	103.54	19.83
October 6, 1976	959.69	102.97	20.87
October 5, 1976	966.75	103.23	19.20
October 4, 1976	977.98	104.03	12.63
October 1, 1976	979.89	104.17	20.62
September 30, 1976	990.19	105.24	14.70