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U.S. markets mixed Thursday

NEW YORK, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. markets were mixed Thursday on weak employment news and Macy's announcement that it would close 11 stores due to a downturn in sales.

Wal-Mart reported December sales were below expectations, with sales rising only 0.1 percent at its Sam's Club warehouse stores.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 27.24 points, or 0.31 percent, to 8,742.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.34 percent, or 3.08 points, to 909.73. The Nasdaq composite index gained 17.95 points, or 1.12 percent, to 1,617.01.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,911 stocks advanced and 1,177 declined on a volume of 5.4 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 14/32 to yield 2.45 percent.

The euro rose to $1.3723, compared to Wednesday's $1.363. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 91.07 yen, down from Wednesday's 92.66 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average dropped 362.82 points to 8,876.42, down 3.93 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index fell 0.05 percent, down 2.14 points, to 4,505.37.

Auto show promises indoor test track

DETROIT, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- Organizers of Detroit's 2009 auto show said the empty space provided by no-show automobile companies would be replaced with an indoor test track.

The Michigan Economic Development Corp. is sponsoring a 1/8-mile indoor track that will roam past indoor waterfalls and a forest-like landscape, The Detroit News reported Thursday.

"This will blow your mind," said the North American International Auto Show's senior co-chairman Joe Serra. "It literally looks like you're in a beautiful forest. It's huge," he said.

A committee is selecting the cars visitors will be able to drive, but the selection includes several hybrid vehicles, including the hydrogen-powered Chevrolet Equinox.

"We selected vehicles that have low emissions or zero emissions," said the show's executive producer Richard Plyer.

Portable air quality monitoring devices will also be used during the show, Plyer said.

Starbucks, despite recession, buys a jet

SEATTLE, Jan. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. coffee retailer Starbucks topped off a year in which it closed 616 locations with the purchase of a new corporate jet, the company said.

Starbucks spokeswoman Deb Trevino said the company ordered the Gulfstream 550 three years ago and considered canceling the purchase. But the company said canceling the order was too expensive, the Seattle Times reported Thursday.

Among its first stops as part of Starbucks' fleet of three corporate jets, the Gulfstream 550 spent two weeks in Hawaii, flown there for a combination business and personal trip, Trevino said.

Bob Zuskin, at Washington, D.C. consultancy Jet Perspectives estimated the cost of the jet at about $45 million. Canceling the purchase could have cost $5 million or more, he said.

Private jet prices are down in part because corporations are selling their fleets, he said.

Viewed as an executive luxury in good times and an insult during a recession, executives from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler flew corporate jets to Washington to ask for billions in federal support last year, a move some considered a slap in the face of taxpayers.

"There's a witch hunt against corporate aviation in American right now," Zuskin said.

Wal-Mart missed mark in December

BENTONVILLE, Ark., Jan. 8 (UPI) -- The largest U.S. retailer, Wal-Mart Stores performed under expectations in December, pointing to a sharp slowdown in consumer spending, a retail analyst said.

"If even Wal-Mart is unable to have a significant sales increase considering its low prices, it means that the American shopper is truly tapped out," retail analyst Britt Beemer at America's Research Group said, CNNMoney.com reported Thursday.

Sales at Wal-Mart locations in business for a year rose 1.9 percent in December, a sharp reduction from the 2.6 percent gain made in December 2007. Sam's Club sales were not even that robust, rising 0.1 percent, compared with a 1.3 percent gain in December 2007.

Wal-Mart Stores vice chairman Eduardo Castro-Wright said, "the holiday season was more challenging for retailers than expected."

Beemer said he was "shocked and disappointed," by the holiday sales figures.