News stories from Wednesday March 9, 1977

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

Small bands of gunmen, most saying they were members of the Hanafi Moslem sect, invaded city hall and two other buildings in downtown Washington, killing at least one person, wounding at least 13 and taking dozens hostage. The invaders demanded and got cancellation of the premiere of a movie about Mohammed. Besides city hall, the groups invaded B'nai B'rith headquarters and the Islamic Center and Mosque. [New York Times] A ban on the use of saccharin in foods and beverages was announced by the Food and Drug Administration, which said the artificial sweetener had been found to cause malignant bladder tumors in rats. Agency officials said the ban, which is not effective immediately, was based on a study sponsored by the Canadian government, which discovered that large amounts of saccharin fed to the animals caused cancer. [New York Times] A jobs program costing $1.8 billion was requested in a message to Congress from President Carter, who said it would aid young people, the biggest group of unemployed Americans. The funds were included in his $31.2 billion economic stimulus program. They would create two projects reminiscent of President Roosevelt's Civilian Conservation Corps. [New York Times] A trade decision with political implications must soon he faced by the Carter administration. In a few weeks, the White House must decide whether to support rulings of the International Trade Commission that imports of shoes, television sets and sugar are injuring domestic industries. [New York Times] Grasping the initiative in advance of the Carter administration's overall energy policy statement, Senator Henry Jackson plans to introduce today a bill to compel electric power plants and factories to burn coal instead of oil or natural gas. [New York Times] Stock prices fell and glamour issues were particularly weak amid fears of double-digit inflation rates expected in a key group of government statistics. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 9.14 points to close at 942.90 in its biggest setback since Jan. 20. Interest rates on top-quality corporate bonds advanced in a generally quiet market. [New York Times] Kenneth Axelson withdrew his name from consideration to be nominated as Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. His sudden decision not to seek the agency's second highest post was announced by a Treasury spokesman hours after the Carter administration was informed of a pending New York Times article describing some questions raised about Mr. Axelson's business conduct in a federal grand jury inquiry. [New York Times] A new approach for peace in the Middle East was outlined by President Carter at a news conference. It would urge Arabs and Israelis to agree on sovereign, recognized borders, but would permit the possibility of keeping Israeli forces stationed beyond those frontiers for the ''foreseeable future." This latest attempt to break the impasse in negotiations seeks a phased withdrawal, perhaps up to eight years, during which it is hoped normal relations would develop. [New York Times] The lifting of all travel bans on Americans to Cuba, Vietnam, North Korea and Cambodia, effective March 18, was announced by President Carter. Mr. Carter, speaking at a news conference, linked the action to his expressed desire to improve the United States position on human rights in line with the Helsinki agreement on European security and cooperation. [New York Times] Paul Warnke was confirmed by the Senate as the chief United States arms negotiator, but the vote of 58 to 40 fell short of the broad support sought by the Carter administration. Seven hours before the vote, President Carter said at a news conference that opposition would indicate "a lack of confidence in the Senate in my own ability as chief negotiator." [New York Times] Brady Tyson, the American diplomat who apologized in Geneva Tuesday for what he said was the United States role in the subversion of the Allende government in Chile, was called to Washington for instruction in diplomatic procedures. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 942.90 (-9.14, -0.96%)
S&P Composite: 100.10 (-0.77, -0.76%)
Arms Index: 1.29

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	433	4.25
Declines	995	12.64
Unchanged	450	2.79
Total Volume		19.68

* 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*
March 8, 1977	952.04	100.87	19.52
March 7, 1977	955.12	101.25	17.41
March 4, 1977	953.46	101.20	18.95
March 3, 1977	948.64	100.88	17.56
March 2, 1977	942.07	100.39	18.01
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