News stories from Wednesday December 29, 1976
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The Carter camp in Washington found itself in a minor flap over what its various spokesmen sought to treat as a premature and possibly inaccurate disclosure of several major White House staff appointments by a senior transition aide. It was not clear whether the President-elect had merely been embarrassed or whether he was experiencing some new difficulties or second thoughts about his personal staff. [New York Times]
- The President-elect, winding up his meetings with his future cabinet and other major advisers, in effect confirmed that it was uncertain that his administration would seek a cut in defense spending. Returning from St. Simons Island off the Georgia coast to his home in Plains, he said that his chief economic advisers and Vice President-elect Mondale would join him there next Thursday. [New York Times]
- Jimmy Carter returned to Plains, Georgia, after a two-day meeting with his prospective cabinet. Carter said that all members have promised in writing to rid themselves of any conflict of interest holdings according to the new code of ethics which will be made public on Friday. The meeting has demonstrated to Carter that making campaign promises and then carrying them out is easier said than done.
Carter vowed to immediately propose welfare reforms but the implementation of the reforms will take time and may have to be phased in. The amount of time required to do that will be known only after the program is finalized. Regarding defense budget cuts, Carter said that his administration will cut to some degree, but he stated that spending on needed programs could actually push the budget higher. Carter believes that his proposed changes would result in a net reduction of 5%.
Speaking on the radio program "Capitol Cloakroom", Senator George McGovern complained that Carter's cabinet representatives represent no real break with the past, and many in it could have been picked by Richard Nixon.
[CBS] - Labor leaders and bankers in New York City welcomed President-elect Carter's new assurances, but said they needed many more answers before they could agree to a plan to redeem nearly $1 billion in the city's short-term notes. Jack Bigel, a consultant to the municipal unions, said "we are cautiously optimistic" of an eventual settlement. [New York Times]
- Signs of economic expansion after a "pause" in summer and early fall continued when the November index of leading indicators rose for the second straight month. The Department of Commerce reported a healthy 1 percent November increase and a revised increase of six-tenths of 1 percent for the month of October. [New York Times]
- Stock prices weakened, with the Dow Jones industrial average re-crossing the 1,000 level to close at 949.93, down 5.15 points. Credit markets remained firm in quiet trading, with government securities buoyed by the Federal Reserve's purchase of Treasury coupons. [New York Times]
- Solar heating can compete with electric heating in newly built, well-insulated, one-family houses in at least 13 cities, according to a study by federal energy researchers. They said it cannot yet compete with oil and natural gas but would be able to do so if the cost of installation could be halved. [New York Times]
- The wrong helicopters are being bought by the Army if it should have to fight a short and intense war in Europe, according to a paper on the defense budget prepared by the Budget Office of Congress. The study represents a new interest of congressional committees in examining the links between strategic plans and weapons procurement programs. [New York Times]
- Flying Tiger Line illegally listed as operating expenses its gifts and free services to American politicians and foreign dignitaries, according to a complaint against the air cargo carrier prepared by a lawyer for the Civil Aeronautics Board. The C.A.B.'s Bureau of Enforcement asked for a formal hearing on the allegations, said to have occurred between May 1960 and March 1975. [New York Times]
- Political unrest in Paoting, about 100 miles south of Peking, is reported to have erupted into conflict requiring intervention from the Chinese capital to quell it. The reports from reliable sources in Peking said that raiding of arsenals, blowing up of factories, looting, murder and rape in Paoting were linked with supporters of the discredited Chiang Ching, widow of Mao Tse-tung, and the three other radicals accused of plotting to seize power. [New York Times]
- The discovery in Northern Syria of the ancient civilization of Ebla, which flourished 4,400 years ago, was acclaimed at the Archeological Institute of America as one of the most significant archeological advances of the century. Palace archives of cuneiform writing on clay tablets, only partly deciphered, attest to a vast commercial and cultural empire that flourished for at least 800 years. [New York Times]
- The name of Pablo Casals, on the 100th anniversary or the birth of the musician, was restored to the avenue in Barcelona that bore it until Franco's victory in 1939. Casals, a conscientious resister of dictatorship, had remained in self-imposed exile from Spain and his native Catalonia until his death three years ago. At a public ceremony, the city's mayor joined in singing a Catalan folk song made famous by Casals and banned under Franco. [New York Times]
- American Jews are divided over whether they should have any contact with representatives of the Palestine Liberation Organization, given that the government of Israel refuses to deal with it. The Conference of President of Major Jewish Organizations vigorously opposes any meetings, but Breira, a small organization that has become something of a thorn in the side of most other Jewish groups, defends contacts as long as they are not on the order of negotiations. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 994.93 (-5.15, -0.51%)
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* |
| December 28, 1976 | 1000.08 | 106.77 | 25.79 |
| December 27, 1976 | 996.09 | 106.06 | 20.13 |
| December 23, 1976 | 985.62 | 104.84 | 24.56 |
| December 22, 1976 | 984.54 | 104.71 | 26.97 |
| December 21, 1976 | 978.39 | 104.22 | 24.39 |
| December 20, 1976 | 972.41 | 103.65 | 20.69 |
| December 17, 1976 | 979.06 | 104.26 | 23.87 |
| December 16, 1976 | 981.30 | 104.80 | 23.92 |
| December 15, 1976 | 983.79 | 105.14 | 28.30 |
| December 14, 1976 | 980.63 | 105.07 | 25.13 |