News stories from Wednesday December 21, 1977

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

The Consumer Price Index rose in November by one-half of 1 percent, the highest increase since June. Government statisticians attributed this to a burst of inflation in food prices and markups for Toyota cars. The rise was regarded as within the limits of recent experience and not an indication that inflation was taking off. [New York Times] Present oil prices will continue into next year, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries announced at the end of its meeting in Venezuela. The 13 members failed to agree on an increase, after some members, including Iraq, Libya, Algeria and Venezuela, had proposed higher levels ranging from 3 percent to 23 percent. [New York Times] Stock prices rose sharply, responding to favorable developments in two areas of chronic worry -- currency trading and oil pricing. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 7.71 points to close at 813.93. Natural resources issues, along with some glamour stocks, were among the day's best gainers. [New York Times] The naming of Frank Carlucci, currently Ambassador to Portugal, as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence is planned by the Carter administration, according to ranking White House and State Department officials. The appointment is aimed at dealing with turmoil in the Central Intelligence Agency's upper ranks under its new head, Adm. Stansfield Turner. Mr. Carlucci is said to have insisted on full authority in his post, including access to intelligence evaluation that only the director now receives. [New York Times] The U.N. General Assembly adjourned after having adopted a $986 million budget for the next two years. The session was one of the most constructive in many years, according to Andrew Young. the United States delegate, but he said members did not seem to appreciate the opportunities for Middle East peace opened by President Sadat. He said the world might he "passing the United Nations by." [New York Times] President Carter chose Braniff to fly a newly authorized route between Dallas and London, disregarding a 4 to 1 vote by the Civil Aeronautics Board in favor of Pan American, whose executives immediately accused him of acting politically. In a separate decision, the C.A.B. said it was softening its restrictions on charter flights, making it easier for their operators to compete with many new bargain fares on scheduled services. [New York Times] Detection of prostate cancer by a standard blood test has been made more effective by the experimental use of the research technique for which the Nobel Prize was awarded this year. A study published by Los Angeles researchers using this radioimmuno-assay technique reports success in measuring much smaller amounts of a telltale enzyme, enabling them to detect a larger proportion of patients with prostate cancer. [New York Times] President Anwar Sadat of Egypt told reporters in Ismailia that he would not accept an Israeli military presence on the West Bank of the Jordan as part of an overall Middle East settlement. He also met twice with Israel's Defense Minister, Gen. Ezer Weizman. His public and private moves were seen in Cairo as an attempt to soften the Israeli position before his meeting in Ismailia with Prime Minister Menachem Begin on Sunday. [New York Times] Vietnamese refugee "boat people" admitted to the United States on an emergency basis will be limited to 7,000 instead of the 10,000 originally proposed by the State Department, the Carter administration has decided. The administration, according to official sources, has also decided to press for legislation allowing Vietnamese refugees to be admitted on a regular basis instead of through the current piecemeal approach. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 813.93 (+7.71, +0.96%)
S&P Composite: 93.05 (+0.55, +0.59%)
Arms Index: 0.63

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	883	14.54
Declines	561	5.84
Unchanged	455	4.13
Total Volume		24.51

* 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*
December 20, 1977	806.22	92.50	23.25
December 19, 1977	807.95	92.69	21.15
December 16, 1977	815.32	93.40	20.27
December 15, 1977	817.83	93.55	21.61
December 14, 1977	822.68	94.03	22.11
December 13, 1977	815.23	93.56	19.19
December 12, 1977	815.75	93.63	18.16
December 9, 1977	815.23	93.65	19.21
December 8, 1977	806.91	92.96	20.40
December 7, 1977	807.43	92.78	21.05