News stories from Wednesday March 2, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A stringent code of ethics, including a controversial limitation on outside earned income, was overwhelmingly adopted by the House of Representatives in an effort to restore public confidence in Congress. Before the vote, Speaker Tip O'Neill said the income limitation of 15 percent of a member's salary, or $8,625, was "the heart and soul" of the package. [New York Times]
- Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez submitted his resignation as chairman of the House Committee on Assassinations, accusing some of its members of trying to usurp his power and the Democratic leadership of failing to support him. The Speaker, Tip O'Neill, doubted the committee would survive without some major new investigative lead. He noted that the resignation would have to be adopted by the House. [New York Times]
- The Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that a Social Security provision making it harder for widowers than for widows to get survivors' benefits was unconstitutional sex discrimination. The provision requires men to prove dependence on their spouses to qualify, but not women. The majority was divided in its reasoning, with four feeling the provision discriminates against women and the fifth feeling it was unfair to men. [New York Times]
- Women in the Navy will have wider opportunities for sea duty under legislation it has prepared ending prohibitions against their assignment to ships other than transports and hospital ships. The Navy has been facing legal action for alleged discrimination. The change would still bar women from combat duty. [New York Times]
- The White House wrote 450,000 persons, mostly chosen at random, to solicit their suggestions for the national energy policy that President Carter will submit to Congress by April 20. The unusual inquiry into public opinion asked views on whether measures to save energy should be voluntary or mandatory, whether environmental quality should be sacrificed, and whether fuel prices should have more or less government control. [New York Times]
- Federal spending still lags behind budgeted amounts, for reasons not fully understood, Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal said, adding that the phenomenon would probably reduce the projected size of the fiscal deficit this year. [New York Times]
- Stock prices resumed their long slide after Tuesday's 8-point jump, with Dow Jones industrials down 2.66 points to close at 942.07. Bond prices rose as the Treasury conducted its monthly sale of one-year bills, and yields declined to the lowest level since January. [New York Times]
- The Bahamas are gaining a new eminence in the financial world as a rapidly growing portion of the international banking business is being booked, or officially recorded, in this tiny Caribbean nation. The islands have become a key link in the little-known Eurocurrency market, helped by a recent British tax increase and their nearness to New York. Big American banks have more than doubled their lending there in the last three years. [New York Times]
- Vetoing the June primary bill, Governor Carey of New York delayed the political calendar until September and thoroughly scrambled the mayoral race in New York City. The Liberal Party promptly postponed action on its plan to designate State Senator Roy Goodman, a Manhattan Republican, as a "fusion" candidate for mayor. Mr. Goodman called their action entirely appropriate in the circumstances. [New York Times]
- The Soviet press, responding to the Carter administration's complaints about violations of human rights, is counterattacking with a series of articles portraying the United States as a land of political arrests and false freedoms. After three weeks of accounts of police surveillance, unequal justice, racism, anti-Semitism and entrenched McCarthyism in the United States, Soviet readers were told that President Carter had received Vladimir Bukovsky, "a criminal law offender" who opposed the development of Soviet-American relations. [New York Times]
- Refugees from Uganda who have slipped into Kenya in recent days have begun telling of a wave of death, fear and intimidation that made many flee without their families. Most were doctors, engineers, students and civil servants belonging to the predominantly Christian Lango and Acholi tribes. They said that the persecution of the tribes had not yet reached the proportions of 1972 killings but that the death toll was mounting. [New York Times]
- A meeting In Madrid of the leaders of the French and Italian Communist parties with Santiago Carrillo, secretary general of the Spanish party, was seen as a way of easing legalization of the party in Spain. It is only two months since Mr. Carrillo emerged in Spain after many years of underground leadership of the party. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 942.07 (-2.66, -0.28%)
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 1, 1977 | 944.73 | 100.66 | 19.48 |
| February 28, 1977 | 936.42 | 99.82 | 16.22 |
| February 25, 1977 | 933.43 | 99.48 | 17.61 |
| February 24, 1977 | 932.60 | 99.60 | 19.73 |
| February 23, 1977 | 938.25 | 100.19 | 18.24 |
| February 22, 1977 | 939.91 | 100.49 | 17.73 |
| February 18, 1977 | 940.24 | 100.49 | 18.04 |
| February 17, 1977 | 943.73 | 100.92 | 19.04 |
| February 16, 1977 | 948.30 | 101.50 | 23.43 |
| February 15, 1977 | 944.32 | 101.04 | 21.62 |