UPI NewsTrack Business

U.S. markets close down Tuesday

NEW YORK, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. markets followed markets in Asia and Europe with a quick slide Tuesday, with the major boards in red ink through the day.

Weakness was widespread. Bank of America shares dropped 3.02 percent, while Citigroup shares gave up 2.98 percent. Shares of Sprint Nextel lost 6.46 percent. Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer fell 1.66 percent, while General Electric shares lost 2.24 percent.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 1 percent, 104.14 points, to 10,285.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 1.03 percent, 11.31, to 1,091.94. The Nasdaq composite index shed 16.62 points, 0.76 percent, to 2,172.99.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 920 stocks advanced and 2,066 declined on a volume of 4.7 billion shared traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bill rose 11/32 to yield 3.39 percent.

The euro fell to $1.4701 from Monday's $1.4704. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 88.40 yen from Monday's 89.35 yen.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.27 percent, 47.09, to 10,140.47, despite an $80.6 billion stimulus spending package announced by the government.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 dropped 0.65 percent, 87.53, to 5,223.13.

United Airlines places $18 billion order

CHICAGO, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- U.S. passenger carrier United Airlines said Tuesday it intended to buy as many as 75 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and 75 Airbus A350-XWB aircraft by 2019.

The order, the largest of the year by a major airline, calls for 25 of each plane with the option to buy 50 more of each, The Chicago Tribune reported.

United said it had plans to retire its fleet of Boeing 747 jumbo jets and Boeing 767s by the time the new planes are delivered.

For United, it is the first major order for new planes placed since the early 1990s, when the company ordered Boeing 777s and Airbus A320s.

Industry observers said with other airlines canceling orders for the long-delayed Dreamliner, the timing was right for United to place an order. With sales slow, the airline was likely to find discounts and other incentives, such as favorable financing terms, the newspaper said.

MarketWatch placed the value of the order at about $18 billion.

Northern Rock shareholders stiffed

LONDON, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- An independent accountant in Britain said Tuesday that shareholders of the nationalized Northern Rock bank should expect no return on their investment.

The government has plans to split Northern Rock into a "good bank" and a "bad bank," The Times of London reported.

In doing so, the government will loan the bank and additional $13 billion, to make a total of $37.4 billion it has loaned Northern Rock, the newspaper said.

The so-called "good bank" made up of viable, performing assets, would include about $16 billion in mortgage loans and $31 billion in retail deposits.

The "bad bank," would include $81.4 billion in mortgages.

While the decision to clean out shareholders is not final, it is expected hedge fund manager Jon Wood will lead a legal assault on the decision.

Wood's earlier attempt to sue under the 1998 Human Rights Act was unsuccessful, The Times reported.

GM to build Malibu, Volt, in Michigan

DETROIT, Dec. 8 (UPI) -- General Motors Co. said it would build the 2012 Chevrolet Malibu and two electric and gasoline hybrid cars at the Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan.

GM vice president of global product planning Jon Lauckner said the company would produce the Malibu and the Chevrolet Volt at the plant, as well as the Opel Ampera, the European version of the Volt, The Detroit News reported Tuesday.

The company will spend $336 million on upgrades for the plant, which currently employees 1,013 hourly workers and 133 salaried staff.

United Auto Workers Local 22 Chairman Frank Moultrie said, "we're trying to get the whole line of electric vehicles," at the plant. "If we did, we would be putting our best foot forward."

GM's board in November approved production of a Cadillac Converj, a gas and electric hybrid for a luxury audience.

GM might find high demand for the Malibu could require production at more than one plant, said industry analyst Jim Hall at 2953 Analytics.

The Malibu was produced in Fairfax, Kan., and at the Orion Township plant in Michigan. But Orion Township plant is being overhauled to produce smaller cars, the News said.