Manufacturing expanded in the U.S. and China last month, good news for a sputtering global economy.

The Institute for Supply Management said Tuesday that its manufacturing index came in at 51.9, up from 51.5 in September. Anything above 50 signals growth. Ten of 18 manufacturing industries reported growth last month.

Separately across the Pacific, surveys showed Tuesday that China's factory activity rose in October to the highest level in two years, a sign the world's second-biggest economy may be stabilizing after years of decelerating growth. The news “adds fuel to the narrative that global demand is finally heating up after a dismal showing in the first half of the year,” Fotios Raptis, senior economist at TD Economics, wrote in a report.

For U.S. factories, production and export orders grew faster in October. A measure of factory employment rose last month after falling for three straight months. The Labor Department issues its jobs report for October on Friday. The ISM suggests the report may show that factory employment climbed last month after falling in August and September.

U.S. factories have now expanded seven of the last eight months.

Starbucks serving a cup of ‘unity'

One week before Election Day, Starbucks has unveiled a new cup in the U.S. that it says is meant to be “a symbol of unity.”

The green cup features a mosaic of more than 100 people, including a coffee farmer and a barista.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz calls it “a divisive time in our country” and says in a statement that the coffee giant wanted a symbol to serve “as a reminder of our shared values.”

The cup made its debut Tuesday, the same day Seattle-based Starbucks brought back its traditional holiday drinks. But the company isn't saying if it will replace the somewhat derided red holiday cup from last year. The simple red design of that cup was criticized by some for lacking in holiday spirit.

Facebook and Twitter have months to improve their response to online hate speech in Germany or face legal measures, the country's justice minister said Tuesday.

Heiko Maas said social networking sites have a patchy record of deleting posts considered illegal in Germany. A two-month test conducted over the summer found that Facebook removed 46 percent of posts flagged by users, while Twitter removed just 1 percent.

The figures increased to 91 percent for Facebook and 82 percent for Twitter when the companies were contacted directly or flagged by so-called privileged users.

Maas said the checks will continue until March.