News stories from Friday March 3, 1978

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

The United States foreign trade deficit increased in January for the 20th consecutive month, the Department of Commerce said in reporting that this country bought $2.38 billion more in goods in foreign markets than it sold to them. Larger foreign oil purchases in a period of extremely cold weather and the lingering effect of the longshoremen's strike on the East and Gulf Coasts last fall helped to contribute to January's deficit. [New York Times] Domestic auto sales declined 7.9 percent in February's final 10-day selling period from those of a year ago, the Detroit manufacturers reported. There had been a gain in the preceding selling period, but sales of the four principal companies for the entire month were still 5.7 percent below those of a year ago. Sales of foreign cars, meanwhile, rose 3.9 percent, giving foreign companies a 19.1 percent share for the month of the new car market in this country. [New York Times] Women could go into combat under a proposal to Congress by the Pentagon. This raises the possibility of women volunteers eventually flying fighter planes, serving in infantry units and working aboard destroyers and aircraft carriers. It was not likely, the Pentagon said, that women would be recruited in the near future for front-line duty, but several officials said that if Congress repeals the ban combat status was inevitable. [New York Times] A natural gas pricing agreement was reached by key members of the deadlocked Senate energy conference, Senator Henry Jackson, the group's chairman, said. Mr. Jackson declined to give details of the agreement, but it was understood to have followed a proposal he made before the Washington's Birthday recess. This would provide moderate increases in the price of newly discovered gas over the next seven years, followed by deregulation of new supplies in 1985. [New York Times] The $1 billion aid bill for public broadcasting that has been proposed by the administration is running into opposition from some members of Congress who believe the system of non-commercial television and radio should first be substantially redirected and reorganized. The government money would be provided for five years starting in 1981, but many supporters of the bill and some members of the White House staff expect that Congress will scale down the authorization to perhaps no more than two years. The vote is scheduled for May 15. [New York Times] The Senate confirmed G. William Miller's nomination as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. The voice vote followed a two-hour debate in the nearly empty Senate chamber, as only a handful of Senators were present for the vote. The only "nay" came from Senator William Proxmire, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee. Mr. Proxmire ridiculed Mr. Miller's capacity to head the nation's central bank and be predicted that Mr. Miller's confirmation "will be a joke." [New York Times] Stock prices continued a modest gain, reflecting investor response to a stronger dollar in foreign exchange markets. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.86 to 747.31. [New York Times] Four Rhodesian leaders signed an agreement providing for majority rule by the end of the year. The accord was signed in Salisbury by Prime Minister Ian Smith and three black nationalist leaders. The blacks were Bishop Abel Muzorewa, the Rev. Ndabaningi Sithole and Senator Jeremiah Chirau. Mr. Smith, who for years had insisted on continued white control, spread his hands wide in a gesture of apparent resignation after he signed the agreement. [New York Times] The White House rebuked the Soviet Union for refusing to agree to a final communique at the East-West conference in Belgrade where human rights grievances were reviewed. The administration, meanwhile, initialed a trade agreement with Hungary that noted the relative liberalism of its Communist government. The agreement allows Hungary to benefit from normal tariffs -- under so-called most-favored-nation status -- and in return, Hungary has pledged to maintain emigration practices satisfactory to the United States. [New York Times] The United States Ambassador to Chile should be recalled if Chile refuses to make two secret police agents available for questioning in the slaying of Orlando Letelier, officials of the State Department and Justice Department suggested. An opponent of the Pinochet government, Mr. Letelier and his aide, Ronni Moffitt, were killed in Washington in September, 1976. Administration officials say the Letelier case has become a crucial element in relations with Chile. Mr. Letelier was a leader of Chilean exiles in this country. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 747.31 (+0.86, +0.12%)
S&P Composite: 87.45 (+0.13, +0.15%)
Arms Index: 0.87

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	754	9.77
Declines	543	6.10
Unchanged	528	4.25
Total Volume		20.12

* 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*
March 2, 1978	746.45	87.32	20.29
March 1, 1978	743.33	87.19	21.01
February 28, 1978	742.12	87.04	19.75
February 27, 1978	748.35	87.72	20.00
February 24, 1978	756.24	88.49	22.51
February 23, 1978	750.95	87.64	18.73
February 22, 1978	749.05	87.56	18.45
February 21, 1978	749.31	87.59	21.86
February 17, 1978	752.69	87.96	18.50
February 16, 1978	753.29	88.08	21.58