News stories from Thursday February 3, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Arthur Burns, the Federal Reserve Board's chairman, told the House Banking Committee that he disagreed with the timing and size of President Carter's economic stimulus program. He said that he believed the economy was "improving on its own," and that it was not clear that "any stimulus is needed at all." He was especially critical of the administration's proposal to give a $50 tax rebate to most people. He said "the Treasury does not have the money." [New York Times]
- More natural gas will be piped from the Southwest to New York and other Eastern markets under an order by Richard Denham, chairman of the Federal Power Commission, who made first use of the emergency energy powers signed into law Wednesday night by President Carter. [New York Times]
- A feeling was growing in the natural gas industry that President Carter's emergency gas bill would not provide much help for the industry. [New York Times]
- The largest retail chains reported strong sales gains in January over the same month last year, despite the extreme cold. The series of healthy reports was led by Sears, Roebuck, which had a 14.1 percent rise over January 1976, its best monthly gain since July 1973. The increase would have been 1.4 percentage points higher if the weather had been better, Arthur Wood, Sears' chairman, said. [New York Times]
- The Dow Jones industrial average declined to its lowest level in two months, 5.65 points to 947.14. It was below the 950-960 band regarded by technical analysts as an area of support for stock prices. Credit markets made their first big advance of 1977, apparently cheered by Arthur Burns' testimony in Congress on the economy, and President Carter's television talk Wednesday night. The Treasury, meanwhile, sold $2 billion of seven-year notes at an average interest rate of 7.25 percent. [New York Times]
- A reduction in the strategic arsenals of the United States and the Soviet Union and a cutback in conventional arms around the world will be proposed by Secretary of State Cyrus Vance at a meeting next month with Soviet leaders. He spoke about the forthcoming meeting in an interview, in which he also said that it would be constructive for the United States and Cuba to discuss their differences. The United States indicated that it would welcome discussions with Cuba about the imperiled anti-hijacking agreement and other issues in the way of normal relations between the two countries. [New York Times]
- Ethiopia's chief of state, Gen. Tafari Banti, was killed in a gun battle that broke out around the Addis Ababa headquarters of the country's feuding military leaders, and seven members of the governing council reportedly were "executed" by the victors. The radio made a point of announcing that Col. Mengistu Haile-Mariam, the council's first vice chairman, was safe. [New York Times]
- Xenophobia is sweeping Benin in the aftermath of a mysterious and ineffectual invasion Jan. 16 by about 100 armed men. The invasion might have been an attempt to bring down the militant leftist government of President Mathieu Kerekou or a plot by the government to bolster its waning prestige among Benin's people. Now squads of soldiers, dispatched by the People's Democratic Party, are making house-to-house searches for "imperialists and colonialists." White foreigners are arrested on sight. About half of the mysterious invasion force was said to be white. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 947.14 (-5.65, -0.59%)
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* |
| February 2, 1977 | 952.79 | 102.36 | 25.70 |
| February 1, 1977 | 958.36 | 102.54 | 23.70 |
| January 31, 1977 | 954.37 | 102.03 | 22.92 |
| January 28, 1977 | 957.53 | 101.93 | 22.70 |
| January 27, 1977 | 954.54 | 101.79 | 24.36 |
| January 26, 1977 | 958.53 | 102.34 | 27.84 |
| January 25, 1977 | 965.92 | 103.13 | 26.34 |
| January 24, 1977 | 963.60 | 103.25 | 22.89 |
| January 21, 1977 | 962.43 | 103.32 | 23.93 |
| January 20, 1977 | 959.03 | 102.97 | 26.52 |