The industrial giant's profit and revenue were up, pushing the blue chip index 0.7% higher for the week.

Stocks on Wall Street have continued their rally, pushing the Dow Jones Industrial Average to a 13-month high, as investors sought resource and financial shares.

Gold futures again reached record levels, as the dollar sank. Oil futures also went higher.

The Dow closed 203.52 points, or 1.5%, up at 10,226.94, the highest finish since October 3, 2008.

The Dow's gains were led by Caterpillar, which surged 4.1%, while American Express and General Electric were also sharply higher, up 4.7% and 3.5%, respectively.

Stocks on Wall Street snapped a two-week losing streak as a surge in General Electric nudged the Dow Jones Industrial Average back above 10,000, for the biggest weekly gain in a month.

The Dow rose 17.46 points, or 0.2%, to 10,023.42, up 3.2% on the week. Almost half the Dow's point gain on Friday could be attributed to a 6.2% surge in component GE after analysts at both Sanford C Bernstein and Oppenheimer upgraded the conglomerate to an "outperform" rating.

Finance companies and government institutions took a hit in more ways than one during the recession, losing brand equity as consumers trusted less and demanded more transparency, a global brand survey has found.

But New Zealand banks fared significantly better than overseas, according to Interbrand New Zealand head of strategy James Bickford.

The tenth annual Business Week/Interbrand Best Global Brands study found 2009 was defined by a new set of moral standards for business behaviour.

Stocks on Wall Street have risen for a seventh time in eight days after growth in retail sales and New York manufacturing topped economists’ estimates.

Billionaire investor Warren Buffett said his company is buying equities.

Alcoa, Caterpillar and GE rose at least 3.7% to lead the Dow Jones Industrial Average higher after the reports from the Commerce Department and Federal Reserve Bank of New York.