News stories from Friday October 21, 1977
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The inflation rate was moderate again last month with consumer prices rising 0.3 percent, the same as in August, the Labor Department reported. The major factor was declining farm prices. The Consumer Price Index in September was 6.6 percent above the level of a year earlier. Though high by historical standards, the rise gives the United States one of the slowest inflation rates in industrialized countries. [New York Times]
- David Berkowitz is fit to stand trial for murder, Justice John Starkey ruled in state Supreme Court in Brooklyn. Mr. Berkowitz is accused of being the .44-caliber killer, who shot to death Stacy Moscowitz and five others. He declared his readiness to go on trial despite legal efforts to have him declared mentally incompetent. [New York Times]
- A prime lending rate rise was announced by Citibank of New York, the nation's second largest bank after the Bank of America. The increase to 7¾ percent from 7½ percent was made in the face of a White House warning that further rate rises could harm the nation's economy. A number of other banks followed Citibank's lead in raising the basic lending rate for the sixth time this year. [New York Times]
- Stock prices dropped to the lowest point in more than two years. The Dow Jones industrial average fell to 808.30, down 6.50 and marking a decline of nearly 200 points this year. [New York Times]
- President Carter disappointed Representative John Conyers, Democrat of Michigan, when he avoided any reference to a bill aimed at "full employment" that he had conditionally endorsed. The occasion was a 90-minute forum on community service problems held in Detroit. The session was the first in a six-state trip by the President. He defended and pledged to improve his urban policies. [New York Times]
- A Texas oilman was cleared of charges of conspiracy in the 1972 murder of his son-in-law. Davis Robinson, the 79-year-old oilman, was unanimously acquitted by a state civil court jury in Houston. He had been accused of killing his son-in-law, Dr. John Hill, to avenge the death of his daughter, Joan Hill. The trial resulted from a $7.6 million damage suit filed by Dr. Hill's third wife, Connie; his mother, Myra, and his son, Robert. The slaying was the subject of a 1976 best-selling book, "Blood and Money." [New York Times]
- The gubernatorial campaign of state Senator Raymond Bateman will be drained of about $100,000 as the result of a ruling by New Jersey's Election Law Enforcement Commission voiding a spending plan. The panel ruled that Mr. Bateman's campaign must pay $100,000 more for ads produced by the Republican State Committee because the ads aided his campaign. [New York Times]
- Quebec, pressing economic recovery and increasing jobs, is seeking ownership of the Asbestos Corporation, now controlled by an American company. The Canadian province is the world's biggest supplier of asbestos, and officials indicated they were ready to take over the corporation if they could not buy it. Quebec's $470 million recovery program is considered crucial to the provincial government's chances of winning its planned referendum on independence. [New York Times]
- The American Ambassador to South Africa was recalled to Washington for consultations on moves the United States should take in expressing opposition to the crackdown on blacks and their supporters in South Africa. The recall of Ambassador William Bowdler was given unusual prominence by the administration in what was interpreted as a rebuke to the South African government. The Congressional Black Caucus issued a program of actions, including economic sanctions, that it said Washington should undertake.
South Africa defended suppression of government opponents as an effort to halt the "total disruption" of blacks' lives by groups using terror and intimidation to stir unrest. Justice Minister James Kruger likened the crackdown to steps taken by Western countries to combat terrorism.
[New York Times] - The leader of terrorists who kidnapped and murdered Hanns-Martin Schleyer is believed to be Friederike Krabbe, a 27-year-old former student of psychology and sociology, according to West German police sources. Investigators have identified her as the woman who rented a Cologne apartment the authorities say was the headquarters for the ambush and kidnapping of the industrial leader. She is also believed to have been in charge of his detention and negotiations on his release. [New York Times]
- Changes in China's education program to raise standards were announced in Peking. The Chinese press agency said that universities would have entrance examinations for the first time since the Cultural Revolution and that some high school students would be allowed to go directly to college without having to work on farms first. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 808.30 (-6.50, -0.80%)
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* |
| October 20, 1977 | 814.80 | 92.67 | 20.52 |
| October 19, 1977 | 812.20 | 92.38 | 22.03 |
| October 18, 1977 | 820.51 | 93.46 | 20.13 |
| October 17, 1977 | 820.34 | 93.47 | 17.34 |
| October 14, 1977 | 821.64 | 93.56 | 20.41 |
| October 13, 1977 | 818.17 | 93.46 | 23.87 |
| October 12, 1977 | 823.98 | 94.04 | 22.44 |
| October 11, 1977 | 832.38 | 94.93 | 18.11 |
| October 10, 1977 | 840.26 | 95.75 | 10.58 |
| October 7, 1977 | 840.35 | 95.97 | 16.25 |