News stories from Thursday July 21, 1977

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

Consumer prices rose six-tenths of 1 percent in June, and food was among the items pacing the increase, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. There was no sign, though, of an acceleration of inflation. Government economists still expect that the recent declines in farm prices will moderate rises in retail food prices and the consumer price index later this year. [New York Times] Minority groups and the poor are being neglected by the Carter administration, one of the black leaders closest to President Carter said. Vernon Jordan, the National Urban League's executive director said: "We expected Mr. Carter to be working as hard to meet the needs of minorities and the poor as he did to get our votes. But so far, we have been disappointed." [New York Times] The looting in New York City last week was described by President Carter as an "additional indication" of the need to channel federal programs for housing, health, education and job opportunities to rundown urban areas "neglected too long." In an interview at the White House by the National Black Radio Network, the President said there was "no excuse" for the violence and the looting. But he added: "It is also important that public officials like myself try to understand the reasons for it." [New York Times] The economy grew at an annual rate of 6.4 percent in the second quarter, the Commerce Department said, an expansion that was somewhat slower than had earlier been indicated but was said to be better balanced. A revision of the first-quarter gain in the gross national product put it at 7.5 percent. The earlier estimate was 6.9 percent. [New York Times] The Stock of some big companies rose even though their quarterly earnings declined. One of these companies, Union Carbide, announced that June-quarter profits dropped more than 12 percent below a year ago, but its stock rose 1 1/8 points to 50¾ after trading as low as 49. Stock prices generally advanced for the fifth consecutive day and the Dow Jones industrial average, which seemed to be losing early in the session, closed with a gain of 1.30 points at 921.78. [New York Times] An underground salt dome in Louisiana, a mile and a half wide and 50,000 feet deep, is being filled with oil. It is one of a number of places that will hold this country's strategic petroleum reserve of a billion barrels. The Louisiana reserve is in oil country near West Hackberry. A Liberian tanker today delivered 412,000 barrels of top-grade Saudi Arabian crude, the first of 61 million barrels that will be stored there. Two other salt domes nearby will also be used to store oil. James Schlesinger, President Carter's principal energy adviser, was present at the initial oil delivery. [New York Times] Sterilization has become almost as widely used as the birth control pill as a means of contraception, a national survey has found. The data, based on a sample of 3,403 white persons and gathered in 1975, indicate that about 68 million married couples of child-bearing age had chosen contraceptive sterilization as against 7.1 million couples who were using the pill. The survey found that the proportion of married couples using the most effective methods of birth control increased dramatically in the decade since 1965. [New York Times] President Carter told the Soviet Union that the United States was prepared to limit its strategic weapons programs, such as the development of the cruise missile, if Moscow would agree to controls on its heavy intercontinental missiles. The President discussed the weapons control proposals at a meeting of Southern state legislators. [New York Times] Thai and Cambodian troops fought a full-scale battle across the border, the first since the Communists took over Cambodia more than two years ago. The battle grew from the frequent small border skirmishes that occur almost daily. The Thai command in Bangkok reported that about 17 Thai soldiers had been killed and estimated that 50 Cambodians had died. [New York Times] A major border clash with Libya was reported by Egypt, which said that the Libyans had been beaten back with the loss of 40 tanks and two planes. The Cairo radio said that a large-scale battle took place about 350 miles west of Cairo near the village of Salum, close to the Libyan border on the Mediterranean. The Libyan press agency accused the Egyptians of shelling the Libyan border village of Mussad. The Libyans were reported to have said that their forces were "working to expel the aggressors." [New York Times] Western European millionaires and corporations, alarmed by political and economic turmoil at home, are increasing their investments in the United States. Much of the money is being invested in commercial real estate in the Sun Belt and in manufacturing facilities in industrial states. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 921.78 (+1.30, +0.14%)
S&P Composite: 101.59 (-0.14, -0.14%)
Arms Index: 1.04

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	655	9.85
Declines	765	12.00
Unchanged	481	5.03
Total Volume		26.88

* 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*
July 20, 1977	920.48	101.73	29.38
July 19, 1977	919.27	101.79	31.94
July 18, 1977	910.60	100.95	26.89
July 15, 1977	905.95	100.18	29.12
July 13, 1977	902.99	99.59	23.16
July 12, 1977	903.41	99.45	22.47
July 11, 1977	905.53	99.55	19.79
July 8, 1977	907.99	99.79	23.82
July 7, 1977	909.51	99.93	21.74
July 6, 1977	907.73	99.58	21.23