BUSINESS IN BRIEF

A bright forecast from Cisco Systems and upbeat economic news sent stocks soaring Thursday and propelled the Dow Jones industrials back above 10,000. The Dow bolted up 203 points, or 2 percent, while the Nasdaq composite index, led by Cisco, rose nearly 2.5 percent.

Employers became leaner and more efficient in the third quarter, as companies across the economy found ways to do more with fewer workers, dimming hopes that hiring will take off anytime soon. Wages, meantime, remain flat or falling. The result: Output per hour of work jumped. If companies can get their workers to produce more, they have little reason to hire -- at least until consumer spending picks up.

More people are visiting Starbucks Corp. coffee shops this year than last, and they're spending more money when they do, Chief Financial Officer Troy Alstead said Thursday. But it was the company's hefty cost-cutting that drove its profits to $150 million in its fiscal fourth quarter compared with $5.4 million a year ago. It had fewer stores than a year earlier, and its revenue fell slightly.

Consumers spent a little more in October, handing the retail industry its second consecutive monthly sales gain after more than a year of declines. It was retail's strongest month since July 2008 and followed a surprising 0.6 percent increase in September.