[PR Newswire] - -

[at Financial Times] - As debate rages on the direction of the world economy, few should be better placed to make a call than Joe Hogan, chief executive of ABB ABB, the Swiss-Swedish electrical engineering group that is as prominent in emerging markets as mature ones.

[AP] - The feeble economy exhibited a smidgen of strength Thursday, with mildly positive reports on jobs, store sales and housing.

[AP] - A look at New York Stock Exchange 10 most-active stocks at the close of trading: Bank of America Corp. rose .5 percent to $13.28 with 126,530,500 shares traded.

[AP] - Teen clothier Quiksilver Inc. said Thursday that it has lowered its interest rate on a $150 million credit line and extended it by four years.

[AP] - Boeing Co. will do some limited testing on two more 787 airliners besides the six planes in its flight test fleet. Boeing Commercial Airplanes spokeswoman Mary Hanson says the two planes are needed to fulfill requirements to test production versions of the new jet, along with the six configured for the flight test program.

[AP] - Defense contractor Esterline Corp. said Thursday its net income rose a better-than-expected 22 percent in the third quarter on higher sales.

[at CNNMoney.com] - Wall Street holds modest gains as investors look to run out the clock ahead of Friday's U.S. employment report.

[AP] - The mean streets of the City of Brotherly Love are once again coming to television. "Wreck Chasers," a reality show about the city's notoriously aggressive tow truck drivers, is shooting and is slated to premiere in late October on TLC.