NEW YORK (AP) — Stock prices are back on the rise this morning. Strong earnings gains reported by a couple of U.S. companies are propelling the stock indexes higher. The biotech drugmaker Amgen is up 4 percent after announcing better-than-expected earnings. Aetna, DuPoint and Pfizer also beat expectations with their quarterly earnings reports this morning. However, Twitter is down more than 12 percent after the company last night reported results that raised concerns about its user growth and holiday revenue.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Conference Board says consumer confidence is rebounding strongly. Its confidence index has climbed to 94.5 in October, reversing last month’s dip and the highest reading since before the Great Recession began seven years ago. The Conference Board says more Americans are becoming optimistic about job growth and their own earning potential.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Durable goods orders fell again last month. The Commerce Department says orders dropped 1.3 percent in September after a record 18.3 percent tumble in August. A key category that serves as a proxy for business investment fell 1.7 percent in September, the biggest drop since January. But analysts see the declines as a temporary soft patch for manufacturing that likely will be followed by a resumption of stronger growth.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Home prices grew more slowly in August amid modest sales. The Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller 20-city home price index rose 5.6 percent from 12 months earlier. Home prices were rising at a double-digit pace as recently as last fall.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — The European Union’s environment agency says the bloc’s greenhouse gas emissions dropped by nearly 2 percent last year, putting the EU very close to reaching its emissions target for 2020. The goal is to reduce emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases by 20 percent compared to 1990 levels, and the EU has now cut 19 percent. However, not all of the EU’s 28 nations are on track to meet their individual targets. Among those falling short are Germany and Spain.

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