News stories from Wednesday March 16, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Hanoi's welcome to the first White House mission to Vietnam since the Communist takeover was warmer than expected, with the Deputy Foreign Minister at the airport. The members quickly met the Foreign Minister and were promised a meeting today with Prime Minister Pham Van Dong. Their task is to learn the fate of 2,250 Americans still missing since the end of the Indochina war. [New York Times]
- A Clinton, Mass., town meeting heard President Carter, on his first "meet the people" tour since his inauguration, say he seeks an administration responsive to the ordinary moods of ordinary citizens. Reiterating much of his campaign rhetoric, he said he hoped that in three or four years people would see the federal government not as an enemy but a friend. [New York Times]
- The business investment credit plan in President Carter's economic stimulus program, which was knocked out of the package when the bill passed the House of Representatives, was restored in the Senate Finance Committee. If it passes the Senate, a conference of the two houses will determine whether the new incentive to spending on plant and machinery will go through. [New York Times]
- A record in new homes started was set for February, following the record drop in January, when the construction industry was hardest hit by the cold weather. The Commerce Department figures appeared to support the view of many experts that the economy is responding to the mid-winter difficulties with strong compensating gains. [New York Times]
- Stock prices continued their advance, with the Dow Jones industrial average adding 2.99 points to close at 968. Bond prices jockeyed about and a $130 million offering by Northwestern Bell Telephone Company was two-thirds sold as the session ended. [New York Times]
- Oil and natural gas prices should not be set by a Secretary of Energy, as proposed in President Carter's energy reorganization plan, in the opinion of some members of the Senate Governmental Affairs Committee. The idea of a separate agency for this key function is being explored. [New York Times]
- Labor's drive in the South, where the rapidly swelling work force is largely unorganized, is the most diverse and powerful in its history. The biggest objective is the textile industry, the largest employer in the region with 700,000 workers, but the least organized with only 10 percent in unions. Anti-union laws and feelings have eased, labor's political power has increased in some states, and the growing employment of blacks, who are considered more responsive to unionization, has raised the organizers' hopes. [New York Times]
- Public funding of congressional races received a boost when Tip O'Neill, the Speaker of the House, who had helped defeat such measures in 1974 and 1976, announced that its time had come. His remarks came as 109 House members jointly introduced a bill to make federal funding available in the 1978 campaign. [New York Times]
- Owners of small blocks of stock should not be required to disclose their identities, Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal told the Senate Banking Committee. He said he saw no useful purpose in such a measure, which is being pressed by three key Democratic Senators. [New York Times]
- The New York Jets will play their first two home games of the fall football season at the Giants Stadium in New Jersey, returning to Shea Stadium in Queens for their remaining five home games. Mayor Beame indicated that he would fight the proposed move. [New York Times]
- Forces invading Zaire from Angola have been "engaged in conflict" along routes to the copper mines that are vital to the country's economy, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance told the House International Relations Committee. Mr. Vance said the invaders were believed to be primarily returning members of the former Katanga gendarmerie who fled to Angola a decade ago. He also disclosed that the United States had had its first direct contact with Cuba on opening diplomatic talks. [New York Times]
- The assassination of Kamal Jumblat, the Moslem Druse chieftain who led the alliance of leftists and Moslems in Lebanon's civil war, stirred fears that the rebuilding of the country might be set back. Mr. Jumblat's chief rival, Pierre Gemayel of the Phalangist Party, eulogized Mr. Jumblat and urged Lebanese to close ranks against disruption by "vicious elements." [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 968.00 (+2.99, +0.31%)
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 15, 1977 | 965.01 | 101.98 | 23.94 |
| March 14, 1977 | 958.36 | 101.42 | 19.29 |
| March 11, 1977 | 947.72 | 100.65 | 18.23 |
| March 10, 1977 | 946.73 | 100.67 | 18.52 |
| March 9, 1977 | 942.90 | 100.10 | 19.68 |
| 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 |