News stories from Wednesday January 4, 1978
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Howard Baker, Jr., the Senate Republican leader who has been publicly uncommitted on the Panama Canal treaties, told Panama's chief of government, Gen. Omar Torrijos, that the Senate would not approve them without major changes. He said that if the changes were made he would back the treaties. He mentioned specific language clarifying the U.S. right to defend the canal and to give U.S. ships priority in passage. [New York Times]
- Federal anti-discrimination officials will closely scrutinize hiring practices of the nation's largest corporations, according to Eleanor Holmes Norton, new chairman of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. There will be many more class suits, she said, but the expansion of individual complaints into class suits will be ended to protect employers against frivolous, unfounded complaints. [New York Times]
- California homeowners, sharing national discontent over soaring property taxes, are preparing a confrontation with their state government that threatens the financial underpinnings of education and local government. State officials say that organized taxpayer groups have collected more than enough signatures to place a constitutional amendment on the June ballot that would limit property taxes to 1 percent of market value, cutting collections by more than two-thirds. [New York Times]
- A move to prop up the dollar, which has been in a long decline on international markets that accelerated in the aftermath of Federal Reserve Board changes last week, was announced by the Treasury Department and the Board. A warning by King Khalid of Saudi Arabia to President Carter in Riyadh was reliably reported to have played a part in the move. [New York Times]
- The Carter administration's plan for reference prices to limit the importing of steel was received with some enthusiasm and some confusion by the domestic steel industry, while importers worried about potential damage to their business. The Federal Trade Commission was said to have circulated a report contending that the reference system would cost American taxpayers more than $1 billion a year and create an expensive new bureaucracy. [New York Times]
- Stock prices continued Tuesday's slide but recovered some ground after the announcement of government steps to bolster the dollar. The Dow Jones industrial average sank another 9 points before the news turned it upward. It closed at 813.58 for a net loss for the session of 4.16. [New York Times]
- President Carter, after the meeting in Aswan with President Anwar Sadat of Egypt, read a prepared statement declaring that the Palestinians should be enabled to participate in the determination of their own future. He said this was one of the basic principles that should be observed before a comprehensive Middle East peace can be achieved. In Israel, Prime Minister Menachem Begin rejected Palestinian self-determination because he said it would mean a Palestinian state that would be a mortal danger to Israel. [New York Times]
- Parisians were delighted when President Carter strolled hatless down the Champs-Elysees at the start of a three-day visit to France. After flying in from Egypt, he began discussions with President Valery Giscard d'Estaing and addressed a gathering of government and business leaders on a "new agenda for democracy." [New York Times]
- Troops now in South Korea may be relocated to Fort Drum, N.Y., Fort Dix, N.J., and Fort Devens, Mass., when the Second Infantry Division is gradually brought home starting late this year. Administration and Defense Department officials support such a move, which has considerable political overtones, because climate and terrain are more similar to Europe, the chief area of Army concern, than Fort Bliss in Texas, which the Army would prefer. A decision is due this summer. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 813.58 (-4.16, -0.51%)
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* |
| January 3, 1978 | 817.74 | 93.82 | 17.72 |
| December 30, 1977 | 831.17 | 95.10 | 23.56 |
| December 29, 1977 | 830.39 | 94.94 | 23.61 |
| December 28, 1977 | 829.70 | 94.75 | 19.63 |
| December 27, 1977 | 829.70 | 94.69 | 16.75 |
| December 23, 1977 | 829.87 | 94.69 | 20.08 |
| December 22, 1977 | 821.81 | 93.80 | 28.10 |
| December 21, 1977 | 813.93 | 93.05 | 24.51 |
| December 20, 1977 | 806.22 | 92.50 | 23.25 |
| December 19, 1977 | 807.95 | 92.69 | 21.15 |