IBT Staff Reporter

The executives who run big U.S. industrial companies are cautiously optimistic about the future but, so far, their optimism does not extend very far.

Morgan Stanley said on Thursday it will seek to rapidly expand in the coming years its high-end wealth management unit catering to the ultra wealthy.

CJ Jeans is the name of the new line of denim jeans launched by Cookie Johnson hitting the store shelves and bound to be a hit for the curvy ladies.

A U.S. index of leading economic indicators rose for the sixth straight month in September, with eight of ten indicators increasing for the month, suggesting a recovery in the U.S. economy is developing, the privately held non-profit Conference Board said on Thursday.

Caterpillar Inc named company veteran Doug Oberhelman, head of its engines and turbines unit, to succeed retiring chief executive Jim Owens.

The Federal Reserve will issue new bank pay guidelines on Thursday designed to curb excessive risk taking, an industry source said.

The Federal Reserve will issue new bank pay guidelines on Thursday designed to curb excessive risk taking, an industry source said.

The Federal Reserve will issue new bank pay guidelines on Thursday designed to curb excessive risk taking, an industry source said.

The Dow industrials gained on Thursday on strong earnings reports from several components, while the Nasdaq fell on weakness in Ericsson and other technology names.

Nokia Corp., the world's biggest cellphone maker, said Thursday it had filed a lawsuit against smaller rival Apple, claiming that its iPhone infringes ten technology patents of Nokia.

Merck & Co , slated to acquire Schering-Plough Corp later this year, reported better-than-expected earnings due to cost controls and strong sales of its diabetes and HIV treatments.

Suspected Taliban militants shot and killed a Pakistani army brigadier and his driver in the capital on Thursday as the military continued a major offensive against the insurgents in their strongholds near the Afghan border.

U.S. vaccine advisers declined to press for the use of Merck & Co's Gardasil in boys and men, opting instead on Wednesday to simply advise doctors they are free to use it.

Emergency rooms may be able to give patients faster and better care by applying some of the same principles that have worked in Japanese car manufacturing, a new study suggests.

The European Central Bank has warned that EU plans to tighten regulation of hedge funds and other alternative investors risk creating a two-tier playing field that could drive the industry out of Europe.

Philip Morris International Inc and Reynolds American Inc posted higher-than-expected quarterly profits and raised their full-year forecasts on Thursday, as tax increases and the recession did not hurt the cigarette makers as much as feared.

China has not ruled out military action to rescue the crew of a coal ship hijacked by Somali pirates, but is also open to negotiations over what a Chinese military officer said on Thursday could be a long standoff.

A U.S. advisory panel has recommended the use of GlaxoSmithKline PLC's Cervarix vaccine to prevent cervical cancer in girls and young women, the company said on Wednesday.

Thousands of postal workers at state-owned Royal Mail walked out on Thursday, starting a 48-hour nationwide strike and blaming bosses and the government for failing to prevent the action.

A major air defense exercise launched with Israel this week will help the United States craft its European missile shield, a U.S. commander said Thursday.

Both rough and refined, board-formed concrete plays an important role in architecturally significant buildings and residential interiors. It can warm up stark modern interiors and provide a cool contrast to warm woods.

AIDS researchers want to expand their study of a rare group of HIV-infected people, whose immune systems naturally and mysteriously prevent the virus thriving in their bodies, to span the globe.

The two Koreas met last week in secret in Singapore to discuss a summit, a broadcaster in the South said on Thursday, an encounter that follows Pyongyang's bid to reach out to its rivals after being hit by U.N. sanctions.

Afghanistan will hardly have enough time to provide full security during a presidential election run-off in November, a senior official said on Thursday as preparations for the second round entered full swing.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Thursday he is moving ahead with his recommendation on whether to send more troops to Afghanistan and would first tell the president before a NATO defense ministers meeting this week.

Results of tens of thousands of flu tests indicate that the pandemic H1N1 virus is spreading from school-aged children to the rest of the U.S. population, makers of the tests say.

Dow Chemical Co said on Thursday its third-quarter net income jumped 66 percent to beat Wall Street's expectations due to asset sales and cost cuts, but revenue fell as consumers curtailed spending.

Paul McCartney announced the dates and locations of his European Tour 2009 on Thursday.

Peter Criss, founding member of rock band KISS, knows that many of his male fans are macho, so he is making the rounds to tell them even tough rocker guys like him can suffer from a disease usually associated with women -- breast cancer.