News stories from Monday October 4, 1976
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Resigning as Secretary of Agriculture, Earl Butz apologized for the "gross indiscretion" of his remarks about blacks and said that he wanted to remove "even the appearance of racism" from the campaign. President Ford, after a meeting with Mr. Butz, said he would accept the resignation of "this decent and good man," whom he described as a personal friend. [New York Times]
- A stay on death penalties was lifted by the Supreme Court as it decided not to reconsider its decision of last July upholding the penalty for murder. The high court also agreed to hear arguments on whether capital punishment may be imposed on persons convicted of rape.
The court, in other actions, refused to hear a wide range of civil rights cases.
[New York Times] - Charging the Ford administration with being insensitive to human suffering, Jimmy Carter criticized its approach to inflation and unemployment. Mr. Carter, prompted by private surveys showing that economic issues were becoming decisive factors in the campaign, said that the Republicans were isolated from the human realities behind the economic figures. [New York Times]
- An agreement in principle has been reached on all the major issues in the strike against the Ford Motor Company, according to authoritative sources. The United Automobile Workers summoned delegates from locals at Ford plants and installations to Detroit on Thursday. Union leaders said they hoped to be able to present the delegates with an agreement by then. [New York Times]
- Despite the clamor over welds that failed inspection and despite a House committee report that predicted a year's delay, the Alaska pipeline appears likely to open on, or near, schedule in July 1977. This tentative conclusion was reached after interviews with officials responsible for the construction of the 800-mile project. [New York Times]
- The New York State Board of Elections is reviewing a staff report that questions enough of Eugene McCarthy's petitions to deny him a place on the state ballot as a presidential candidate. The report was prepared after a challenge to the petitions by the Democratic Party that was seen as being prompted by fears that Mr. McCarthy might take votes away from Jimmy Carter in a crucial state. [New York Times]
- A balance of payments deficit of about $50 billion will be faced by the world's oil-importing countries next year because of increased surpluses in the oil-exporting nations, according to Treasury Secretary William Simon. Speaking at the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Simon said that countries with deficits would find it hard to borrow to cover the deficits because many countries could not afford to take on more debt. [New York Times]
- Stock prices fell slightly in the slowest trading in more than a month, The Dow Jones industrial average lost 1.91 points to close at 977.98. Credit markets reflected the economic slowdown with rising prices and falling rates for fixed-income securities. [New York Times]
- With a shaky majority of only eight seats in Parliament, Chancellor Helmut Schmidt of West Germany moved to firm up his coalition with the small Free Democratic Party, whose leader pledged to continue the partnership. Mr. Schmidt must now attempt to solve his country's troublesome economic problems. [New York Times]
- A ban on all underground explosions of nuclear weapons could result from a new Soviet proposal that may allow on-site inspection to insure that a treaty on weapons testing is being complied with. This was the first time since the 1960's that the Russians have agreed in principle with the American insistence that on-site inspection is a prerequisite for a treaty banning all underground nuclear explosions. [New York Times]
- Israel's military establishment has been revamped and refurbished since the 1973 war to such an extent that Defense Minister Shimon Peres is talking about manufacturing arms rather than buying them. Mr. Peres also said in an interview that the army had remedied the mistakes and misapprehensions that arose during and before the war in much less time than expected. [New York Times]
- Gunmen killed a member of Spain's Council of the Realm in the Basque city of San Sebastian. The victim, Juan Maria de Araluce y Villar, was regarded as a relatively liberal member of the Council, a group of 17 advisers to King Juan Carlos created during the Franco regime. [New York Times]
- Plans for a takeover by Saudi Arabia of the producing assets and concessions of the Arabian American Oil Company are expected to be completed at a meeting next Monday in Europe. Saudi Arabia now controls 60 percent of Aramco, the world's most highly valued oil operation, with the remaining 40 percent controlled by four American oil companies. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 977.98 (-1.91, -0.19%)
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 1, 1976 | 979.89 | 104.17 | 20.62 |
| September 30, 1976 | 990.19 | 105.24 | 14.70 |
| September 29, 1976 | 991.19 | 105.37 | 18.09 |
| September 28, 1976 | 994.93 | 105.92 | 20.44 |
| September 27, 1976 | 1013.13 | 107.26 | 17.43 |
| September 24, 1976 | 1009.31 | 106.80 | 17.40 |
| September 23, 1976 | 1010.80 | 106.92 | 24.21 |
| September 22, 1976 | 1014.05 | 107.46 | 32.97 |
| September 21, 1976 | 1014.79 | 107.83 | 30.30 |
| September 20, 1976 | 994.51 | 106.32 | 21.73 |