News stories from Thursday October 7, 1976

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

A strong showing by Jimmy Carter in the second debate and basic changes In his campaigning may have halted the slide in the Democratic presidential candidate's fortunes. Whether the new pattern will hold until the election and allow Mr. Carter to maintain his lead is impossible to predict, according to experienced politicians, who say that the sudden shifts in direction in this campaign are contrary to the pattern in past campaigns. [New York Times] Astonished and derisive reactions were expressed by Eastern European ethnic groups to President Ford's statement during the debate that the Soviet Union did not dominate Eastern Europe. The President's top foreign policy advisers said that what Mr. Ford actually meant was that the United States did not accept the Soviet domination.In an effort to minimize the political harm he may have done himself, President Ford expressed "firm support" for Eastern European aspirations for freedom. Mr. Ford said in a speech that the United States would never concede that the Soviet Union dominated the area. Jimmy Carter accused President Ford of "insensitivity" to human aspirations and political oppression in his statement about Eastern Europe, which the Democrat called "a very serious blunder." [New York Times] Radical surgery was performed on Senator Hubert Humphrey at a New York City hospital. The Senator's bladder was removed as a treatment for cancer during an operation that lasted almost six hours. The surgeon, Dr. Willet Whitmore, said he saw no reason why Mr. Humphrey could not return to the Senate in January. [New York Times] In the largest rise in almost a year, wholesale prices increased by nine-tenths of 1 percent during September, according to the Labor Department. Jimmy Carter said the increase was one more sign of economic mismanagement by the Ford administration. President Ford noted that wholesale prices had risen by less than 4 percent over the last year, saying this was an improvement. [New York Times] Stock prices rose for the first time in seven trading sessions. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 5.40 points to close at 965.09. Bond prices continued their strong advance with municipal bond interest rates at their lowest point since early 1975. [New York Times] The candidates for United States Senate from New York expressed markedly different opinions on various domestic affairs in a debate at the New York Times. The candidates, Republican Senator James Buckley and Democrat Daniel Patrick Moynihan, displayed wide agreement, however, on foreign affairs, especially the continuing threat posed by the Soviet Union. [New York Times] The first "new town in town," a widely hailed model for federally sponsored inner-city development in Minneapolis, is broke, its tenants unhappy and the government has been halted by a federal court from supplying it with any more funds. The court decided last spring that the developers had not adequately considered alternatives to its high-rise, high-density design. [New York Times] Corporations that have joined the Arab boycott of Israel will not be named by the Commerce Department. Apparently retreating from a pledge he made during the debate, President Ford directed the department to make public all future reports on boycott matters. A Commerce Department spokesman stressed the confidentiality of previous information filed. [New York Times] The military rulers of Thailand moved to consolidate their hold on the country and to reassure the people that weeks of conflict were over. The Administration Reform Council, the group of 18 senior officers who staged the coup, lifted the curfew, but most other civil liberties remained suspended. The council began setting up commissions to supervise the government. [New York Times] Christian militia units are being armed and organized by Israel in areas in the south near the border. The Israeli objective, according to observers, is to prevent Palestinian guerrillas from regrouping in the border area and becoming a threat to Israel once again. Many of the Lebanese soldiers seen in the southern part of the country had military equipment of standard Israeli issue. [New York Times] Harsh restraints were placed on the British economy in an effort by the government to salvage both the pound and its economic policies. The actions announced apply to the inner workings of the British banking system. One increases the lending rate that some banks pay to borrow from the Bank of England. The other major action increases the amount of money banks must leave on deposit with the Bank of England. [New York Times]

Stock Market Report

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 965.09 (+5.40, +0.56%)
S&P Composite: 103.54 (+0.57, +0.55%)
Arms Index: 0.73

	Issues	Volume*
Advances	886	11.80
Declines	542	5.25
Unchanged	462	2.78
Total Volume		19.83

* 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*
October 6, 1976	959.69	102.97	20.87
October 5, 1976	966.75	103.23	19.20
October 4, 1976	977.98	104.03	12.63
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