Monday Afternoon Business Brief

• The stock market has rallying today, helped by a report showing the manufacturing sector doing better. The Dow has been up as many as 150 points.
• Speaking in Indianapolis, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said while the economy isn't growing quickly enough to drive down unemployment, he doesn't think it is in recession.  He also said actions recently announced by the central bank should drive interest rates down even further.
• A report today from purchasing managers indicates that manufacturing expanded in September for the first time in four months. The group's index was paced by rising new orders and additional hiring.
• Under pressure from federal regulators, American Express will pay more than $112 million in refunds and fines in response to accusations it charged unlawful late fees and deceived customers to pressure them to pay off old debts or buy extra credit card services. As part of the settlement, Amex will refund $85 million to about 250,000 customers.
• Just a few months on the job, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer has given birth to a baby boy. Yahoo's decision to hire a soon-to-be mom as its CEO was hailed as a breakthrough.

Read more business stories on the Back To Business page.