News stories from Tuesday July 5, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Carter told his energy adviser, James Schlesinger, to prepare a comprehensive standby gasoline rationing proposal for presentation shortly to Congress, according to an administration source. They met as White House and congressional officials raised the possibility that Congress might not complete action on Mr. Carter's energy package until its next session beginning in January. His action on gasoline was apparently not linked to the reported slippage in congressional action on energy. An administration source said Mr. Schlesinger had been asked to prepare to cope with a reduction of probably 25 percent in gasoline consumption in an emergency such as a new foreign embargo or a disruption of the sea lanes. [New York Times]
- A call from the Vatican for the first time for government support of Roman Catholic schools all over the world said the church's school system might be more important than ever before in the face of contemporary society's materialism, pragmatism and technocracy. It warned against the operation of parochial schools for the rich, even if lack of public aid was the cause. It said the modern state tended to foster a monolithic school system, [New York Times]
- Two acknowledged homosexual men were arraigned in Riverside near Los Angeles on two counts of murder, and the police said they might be responsible for at least 26 murders. Ten bodies have been found so far. The suspects are an electronics engineer who resigned abruptly from Hughes Aircraft Corporation in May and his unemployed apartment-mate. Both fled a police warrant in May. Several of the dead were homosexual. [New York Times]
- The hijacker of a bus charged with killing two hostages in Monday's chase and siege at Kennedy International Airport was remanded to Kings County Hospital for psychiatric examination for 30 days. The hijacker, Luis Robinson, is a 26-year-old Panamanian man in the United States Navy. [New York Times]
- Stock prices advanced slightly, with natural gas and energy-related issues making the best showing. Dow Jones industrials edged ahead by 0.94 points to close at 913.59 at the first session following last week's retreat of more than 17 points. [New York Times]
- The biggest antitrust challenge in many years was filed by the Department of Justice to block the takeover of the Babcock & Wilcox Company by United Technologies Corporation for $510 million. The diversified aerospace company was accused of embarking on a course that might substantially reduce competition or tend to create a monopoly. [New York Times]
- A decision to block sale to Ecuador of 24 Israeli fighter-bombers equipped with American engines is being reviewed in the Carter administration following intercession by the President's wife while visiting Ecuador last month, according to congressional sources. Mrs. Carter's press secretary said she was a channel of communication but did not intercede. [New York Times]
- Pakistan's army, having seized power in a bloodless coup, imposed martial law and promised new elections in October. The chief of staff, Gen. Mohammad Zia ul-Haq, announced the end of the regime of Prime Minister Zulfikar All Bhutto in a nationwide broadcast. The army acted to end four months of political violence that took more than 300 lives. A military spokesman said Mr. Bhutto, his cabinet ministers and leaders of the opposition Pakistan National Alliance had been taken into "temporary protective custody." General Zia said he was taking over as chief martial law administrator but that President Zazal Elahi Choudry would remain head of state and that the 1973 constitution would remain in effect. [New York Times]
- President Carter is increasingly doubtful that an early conference with Leonid Brezhnev can be arranged in view of the conditions laid down by the Soviet leader for such a meeting. Mr. Carter holds that the purpose of such a meeting is mainly to get better acquainted rather than primarily to ratify agreements already made, especially on arms limitation. [New York Times]
- Leonid Brezhnev told Malcolm Toon, the American Ambassador in Moscow, that some aspects of the Carter administration's policies did not accord with the aim of a constructive development of Soviet-American relations. The 100-minute meeting, in which Mr. Brezhnev gave the envoy a letter for President Carter, followed the refusal of Soviet television to let Mr. Toon deliver a customary Fourth of July broadcast to Soviet viewers that included a statement that Americans would continue to state publicly their belief in human rights and their hope that violations of them everywhere would end. His meeting with the Soviet President did not seem linked to that incident. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 913.59 (+0.94, +0.10%)
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* |
| July 1, 1977 | 912.65 | 100.10 | 18.16 |
| June 30, 1977 | 916.30 | 100.48 | 19.41 |
| June 29, 1977 | 913.33 | 100.11 | 19.00 |
| June 28, 1977 | 915.62 | 100.14 | 22.67 |
| June 27, 1977 | 924.10 | 100.98 | 19.87 |
| June 24, 1977 | 929.70 | 101.19 | 26.49 |
| June 23, 1977 | 925.37 | 100.62 | 24.33 |
| June 22, 1977 | 926.31 | 100.46 | 25.07 |
| June 21, 1977 | 928.60 | 100.74 | 29.73 |
| June 20, 1977 | 924.27 | 100.42 | 22.95 |