News stories from Wednesday May 4, 1977

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

The tax cut bill agreed on by House-Senate conferees will benefit individuals, including 120,000 Americans who work abroad, businesses, cities and states to the tune of $2.8 billion in reduced revenues in fiscal 1977 and $17.7 billion in fiscal 1978. Most of this comes from extending through 1978 the individual and corporate tax cuts enacted in 1975 and 1976. [New York Times] Sacrifices to save energy will be less substantial than he envisioned in his appeal last month to the American public, President Carter told the House energy committee at a White House meeting. Democrats and Republicans expressed surprise at his apparent retreat from that summons. He did not indicate in which areas public sacrifice would be eased. [New York Times] Car sales for the period since President Carter's energy proposals showed a confusing pattern in consumer buying, but a surge in sales of fuel-efficient cars appeared at hand. [New York Times] Stock prices moved higher with the Dow Jones industrial average closing at 940.72, up 6.53 points. The advance was aided by a statement from Treasury Secretary Michael Blumenthal that he expected a second quarter growth rate of 7 percent in the real gross national product. [New York Times] Former President Nixon said he "let the American people down" while in the White House by lying, disregarding his constitutional oath and abetting the Watergate cover-up. But in a nationally televised interview he insisted that his offenses were not criminal or impeachable because they came from purely political and humanitarian motives. In sharp exchanges with the interviewer, David Frost, he would not concede that his conduct had amounted to obstruction of justice. [New York Times] A bill to ease the marijuana law in New York state won agreement of negotiators for the Assembly and Senate. It would remove the threat of jail for possession of small amounts for personal use, which would have a $100 fine as maximum penalty for a first offense. Approval appears virtually certain and a spokesman for Governor Carey said he would sign such a de-criminalization measure. [New York Times] Sugar subsidies of up to 2 cents a pound for domestic producers were approved by President Carter, but he vetoed a lowering of the impart quota. The White House said consumer prices would not be affected. The growers would receive the subsidy when the market price falls below 13.5 cents a pound. [New York Times] New York state was barred by federal Judge John Cannella from cutting off home-relief benefits without a "fair hearing" for welfare recipients who refuse to accept a job or work on a public project. [New York Times] The United States and Vietnam agreed in their Paris talks that the United States would not veto Vietnam's admission to the United Nations and would lift a trade embargo after diplomatic relations were established. The Vietnamese promised intensified efforts to provide information on missing American servicemen. Both sides appeared satisfied and will resume the talks in about two weeks. [New York Times] The Soviet Union and the United States have not put forward new proposals to break the Soviet-American deadlock on limiting strategic arms, Secretary of State Cyrus Vance said at a Washington news conference. He had no prediction what would happen when he meets with Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko in Geneva May 18, but said there was always the possibility of something constructive. [New York Times] A foreign military assistance bill of $3.2 billion won approval by the House International Relations Committee, but only after the administration's request for Zaire had been cut by half. It turned dawn the request to authorize $100 million toward the international fund to ease the transition to majority rule in Rhodesia, authorizing instead the same amount in aid to the so-called frontline countries on or near Rhodesia's borders. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 940.72 (+6.53, +0.70%)
S&P Composite: 99.96 (+0.53, +0.53%)
Arms Index: 0.61

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	922	15.10
Declines	499	5.01
Unchanged	482	3.22
Total Volume		23.33

* 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*
May 3, 1977	934.19	99.43	21.95
May 2, 1977	931.22	98.93	17.97
April 29, 1977	926.90	98.44	18.33
April 28, 1977	927.32	98.20	18.37
April 27, 1977	923.76	97.96	20.59
April 26, 1977	915.62	97.11	20.04
April 25, 1977	914.60	97.33	20.44
April 22, 1977	927.07	98.44	20.70
April 21, 1977	935.80	99.75	22.74
April 20, 1977	942.59	100.40	25.09