Business Today: Futures inch higher ahead of Fed stimulus decision

		Click to View in Browser 09/18/2013 Futures inch higher ahead of Fed stimulus decision NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged slightly higher on Wednesday ahead of an announcement by the Federal Reserve on the future of its economic stimulus program. Multifamily homes restrain U.S. housing starts, permits in August WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. housing starts rose less than expected in August amid a sharp slowdown in the multifamily sector, but a surge in permits for single-family homes pointed to sustained strengthening in the housing market recovery. Fed likely to reduce bond buying, pass policy milestone WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to begin its long retreat from ultra-easy monetary policy on Wednesday by announcing a small reduction in its bond buying, while stressing that interest rates will remain near zero for a long time to come. FedEx posts bigger quarterly profit (Reuters) - FedEx Corp posted a bigger quarterly profit as the courier company cut costs and its lower-priced ground shipping business did well, sending its shares up 3 percent before markets opened. Bank of England backs away from more stimulus as economy picks up LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England moved further away from adding more stimulus to Britain's economy this month and seemed less concerned by rising market borrowing costs, minutes of its latest policy meeting showed on Wednesday. Britain's productivity gap with G7 peers widest in 20 years LONDON (Reuters) - British workers are producing considerably less per hour than the average worker in other major economies, resulting in the biggest productivity gap for two decades. Lured by Texas talent, Occidental strays from California roots (Reuters) - Occidental Petroleum Corp may still be headquartered in Los Angeles, as it has been since being founded nearly a century ago, but its center of gravity is shifting to Houston, capital of the U.S. energy industry. Air France plans job cuts as sees full-year loss PARIS (Reuters) - French airline Air France said it discussed a new voluntary departure plan with staff on Wednesday to reduce costs as it forecast it would miss its break-even target this year to post a sixth consecutive annual operating loss. India's cenbank chief seen hawkish on debut, may roll back some FX steps MUMBAI (Reuters) - New Indian central bank chief Raghuram Rajan makes his first monetary policy statement on Friday with expectations he may scale back some of the emergency measures that have helped the rupee bounce from a record low. EU and IMF warn of risks for Cyprus program BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Cyprus has made progress with overhauling its banking sector and pushing through structural reforms to the economy but significant risks remain for the island, a report by the country's international lenders said on Wednesday. Related Video Reuters Breakingviews: UK growth? Good, but not that good House-hunting in Shanghai...on a $1 million budget Economic News Multifamily homes restrain U.S. housing starts, permits in August Obama to ask business leaders to push Congress to raise debt limit A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add mail@nl.reuters.com to your address book. Details Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook Forward to a friend