STUTTGART, Germany-Volkswagen AG said Thursday it will pursue an eventual merger with Porsche SE under VW’s leadership, vowing the luxury sports car maker will retain its independence. MORE

DEARBORN, MI-Helped by a lightened debt load, Ford Motor Co. posted a surprise second-quarter profit of $2.3 billion Thursday, following the worst loss in company history a year earlier. The net profit ends a string of four straight quarterly losses for the nation’s second-largest automaker, which has gained U.S. market share at the expense of crosstown rivals Chrysler and GM. MORE

FLETCHER, NC-Continental Teves Inc. will expand its facility here, adding 338 new jobs over the next five years. The brake systems and component assembler will invest $30.1 million in the plant. MORE

JONESBORO, AR-Wind turbine manufacturer Nordex USA will begin construction here this week on its first U.S. manufacturing plant. Construction will take place in two phases, beginning with the nacelle assembly plant and followed by a rotor blade manufacturing facility at the same location. MORE

NEWPORT NEWS, VA-AREVA Newport News LLC and Northrop Grumman Shipbuilding will join forces to build a new 330,000-square-foot manufacturing facility here to assemble heavy components for new nuclear plants. The $360 million investment will create more than 500 jobs. MORE

SEOUL, South Korea-At least eight people were injured Tuesday in a clash between South Korean police and workers laid off at Ssanyong Motor Co.’s assembly plant. MORE

NEW YORK-More plans to build homes, higher stock prices and fewer people filing first-time claims for jobless aid sent a private-sector forecast of U.S. economic activity higher than expected in June. It was the third straight monthly increase for the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators, and another sign pointing toward the recession ending later this year. MORE

LAKE MARY, FL-The first photovoltaic solar panels have yet to roll off the assembly line at Advanced Solar Photonics LLC facility here, yet the company has massive expansion plans over the next two to three years that industry observers brand as “ambitious.” MORE

FREMONT, CA-If Toyota follows GM out the door of the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. assembly plant here, Tesla Motors could step in to save the day. Tesla’s Model S, promoted as the world’s first fully electric sedan, is expected to go on sale in late 2011. The company is actively scouting locations to build an assembly plant for the vehicle. MORE

BROWNSTOWN TOWNSHIP, MI-General Motors Co. is considering locating its $40 million battery pack assembly plant for the Chevrolet Volt in the Brownstown Business Center. Joe DiSanto, the township’s economic development director, said that GM is looking at an existing 800,000-square-foot building, though it likely would not need all of that space. MORE