News stories from Thursday May 9, 1974
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The House Judiciary Committee formally began its inquiry into the conduct of the President of the United States. After a brief public ceremony in which committee leaders pledged to use the "awesome" impeachment power wisely, the committee reconvened in secret session to begin examining evidence assembled by its staff. The initial three-hour session was devoted to a summary of events leading up to the Watergate burglary in June 1972. [New York Times]
- Pressure against Mr. Nixon continued to mount in his own party as the House minority leader, Representative John Rhodes of Arizona, suggested that Mr. Nixon reconsider resigning and Representative John Anderson of Illinois, the chairman of the House Republican Conference, predicted that the President would be impeached if he did not resign. However, White House spokesmen said the President remained adamant against resigning -- "even if hell freezes over," as one put it. [New York Times]
- Vice President Ford said that disclosures of "corruption, malfeasance and wrong-doing" at the highest levels of government were "hammer blows to the confidence the American people have placed in their government." In what some construed as Mr. Ford's harshest criticism of the Nixon administration, the Vice President told a university audience in Illinois that a "grave situation" existed in the government. [New York Times]
- Democratic representatives, their leaders sharply divided, voted to sidetrack proposals for a sweeping reorganization of House committees. The 111-to-95 vote of the Democratic caucus appeared to doom the immediate prospects for passage of the plan, which, for the most part, would limit House members to a single committee, forcing many to give up choice assignments. The action sent the plan back to a bipartisan committee for reconsideration. [New York Times]
- Industrial prices continued their rapid rise in April, but a drop in agriculture prices slowed the increase in the overall Wholesale Price Index to its smallest advance in six months, the government reported. Nevertheless, the adjusted increase of 0.7 percent left the important inflation indicator 18.8 percent above April, 1973. [New York Times]
- Helmut Schmidt, Willy Brandt's expected successor as Chancellor of West Germany, will place far less emphasis on developing relations with the Communist countries than Mr. Brandt did, according to a close associate. Aides also say that Mr. Schmidt, known as pro-American and an "Atlanticist," is also expected to work at easing the strains in the European Common Market. [New York Times]
- With the election of a new President of France nine days away, there is a major effort to attract Gaullist voters, who appear to be the key to the run-off. [New York Times]
- Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and the leaders of Canada's two principal opposition parties began the campaign for parliamentary elections set for July 8 by pinpointing inflation as the chief issue. Few observers are willing to predict the results, but the vote is expected to produce another minority government.
Six years after he won a landslide victory, Mr. Trudeau found himself unable to piece together a Parliamentary majority for his budget proposals, partly because of the inflation and opposition charges that he was not doing enough to check it.
[New York Times] - Secretary of State Kissinger received an endorsement from Saudi Arabia in his drive for an Israeli-Syrian military disengagement, then flew to Cairo to seek additional backing from Egypt.
For the peripatetic Kissinger party, the day began in Jerusalem and included a stop in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, before winding up in Cairo.
[New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 865.77 (+14.78, +1.74%)
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* |
| May 8, 1974 | 850.99 | 91.64 | 11.85 |
| May 7, 1974 | 847.15 | 91.46 | 10.71 |
| May 6, 1974 | 844.88 | 91.12 | 9.45 |
| May 3, 1974 | 845.90 | 91.29 | 11.08 |
| May 2, 1974 | 851.06 | 92.09 | 13.62 |
| May 1, 1974 | 853.88 | 92.22 | 15.12 |
| April 30, 1974 | 836.75 | 90.31 | 10.98 |
| April 29, 1974 | 835.42 | 90.00 | 10.17 |
| April 26, 1974 | 834.64 | 90.18 | 13.25 |
| April 25, 1974 | 827.68 | 89.57 | 15.87 |