News stories from Wednesday January 12, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Ford addressed Congress for the last time in a State of the Union Message, urging "prudent" policies at home and warning that America must never be second in defense. He expressed "gladness and gratitude" as he returns to private life. He made no specific legislative proposals, leaving that to his successor, to whom he wished "the very best." [New York Times]
- December unemployment declined to 7.9 percent from 8.1 percent in November, the Department of Labor reported. Julius Shishkin, the government's chief statistician, said the economy has resumed an upward path. Other figures he presented indicated that the decline in the national unemployment rate would continue to be slow. [New York Times]
- Farm prices pushed the Wholesale Price Index up in December, but industrial commodity prices, considered a better signal of inflationary pressure, showed the smallest rise in seven months, according to the Labor Department. Indexes for farm products, processed foods and feeds ended the year 1.1 percent below a year earlier. [New York Times]
- A new oil price pattern is beginning to emerge a month after the split in the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries. With a two-tier price system, oil companies are scurrying for lower-priced oil and the producing countries are trying to hold onto their regular buyers. [New York Times]
- Stock prices sank again, with the Dow Jones industrials down 8.40 points to close at 968.25. The bond market moved skittishly, but there were signs that prices were beginning to stabilize. [New York Times]
- The Supreme Court reversed as wrong its own 1973 ruling that federal law should govern disputes over a state's ownership of riverbeds within its boundaries. A majority in the new 6-to-3 decision said the court was reverting to a pattern set in 1845 upholding state sovereignty in such cases. Briefs from 26 states had urged reconsideration of the 1973 decision. [New York Times]
- More data linking birth defects to exposure early in pregnancy to female sex hormones, including oral contraceptives, has been reported by a team that studied more than 50,000 pregnancies. They reported in the New England Journal of Medicine that women who received the hormones during early pregnancy were twice as likely as others to have children with a major heart abnormality. [New York Times]
- The international uproar over France's release of Abu Daoud, a suspected Palestinian terrorist leader, left government and opposition leaders apparently in a state of silent shock. But the French press of left, right and center upbraided the government. The action was interpreted by many Frenchmen as based on the government's eagerness for better relations with the Arab nations that are major oil producers. [New York Times]
- A strong central sports body to upgrade American amateur athletics is recommended by the President's Commission on Olympic Sports in an attempt to remain competitive at the international level. The commission would let American athletes accept money for endorsements and other non-competitive activities. [New York Times]
- The Soviet pilot who defected from Siberia in a MiG-25 to Japan has given American questioners a picture of a life of brutal discipline, distrust, extraordinary concern with safety and spartan living conditions. They call him a gold mine of technical, tactical and operational information. [New York Times]
- A Canadian federal judge upheld the ban on the use of French in air traffic control except for visual operations at several small airports in the French-speaking province of Quebec. The civil aviation dispute had contributed to animosities between English-speaking and French-speaking Canadians and the election victory of a pro-independence group in Quebec. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 968.25 (-8.40, -0.86%)
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* |
| January 11, 1977 | 976.65 | 104.12 | 24.10 |
| January 10, 1977 | 986.87 | 105.20 | 20.86 |
| January 7, 1977 | 983.13 | 105.01 | 21.72 |
| January 6, 1977 | 979.89 | 105.02 | 23.92 |
| January 5, 1977 | 978.06 | 104.76 | 25.01 |
| January 4, 1977 | 987.87 | 105.70 | 22.74 |
| January 3, 1977 | 999.75 | 107.00 | 21.28 |
| December 31, 1976 | 1004.65 | 107.46 | 19.17 |
| December 30, 1976 | 999.09 | 106.88 | 23.70 |
| December 29, 1976 | 994.93 | 106.34 | 21.91 |