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Equities were flat while major currencies and commodities traded within recent ranges on Wednesday as investors awaited a statement from the U.S. Federal Reserve that they hope will shed light on its next move. The Fed is expected to leave policy ultra-loose following the central bank's meeting that ends later on Wednesday but may hint it will start scaling back its bond buying later this year if the U.S. labor market continues to improve. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's comment last month that the U.S. central bank could begin to curtail bond purchases at one of its "next few meetings" put up a speed bump for the equity rally and pushed bond yields higher. U.S. and European stocks were slightly lower by late morning. The MSCI world equity index, tracking shares in 45 countries, inched up 0.04 percent, while Tokyo's Nikkei index ended up 1.8 percent. U.S. Treasuries prices turned negative with yields rising to session highs. "The early morning action is not

Wanda Group, China's largest commercial real estate developer, aims to invest about $1 billion to build a five-star hotel in New York as its third major investment outside its home market, Chairman Wang Jianlin said on Tuesday. _0"> The company is now in talks with potential partners for construction of a Wanda hotel and an adjacent apartment building in New York, Wang told Reuters.   "It will be announced this year, probably in the third quarter if everything goes smoothly," he said in an interview in his Beijing headquarters overlooking the Chinese capital's busiest boulevard. His comments followed the company's announcement of a 1 billion pound ($1.56 billion) British investment, including the acquisition of Sunseeker, Britain's largest luxury yacht maker by sales, and the construction of a 160-room Wanda hotel and an apartment building in London. The privately held conglomerate, with businesses ranging from hotels to shopping malls to cinemas

H&M ( id="symbol_HMb.ST_0"> HMb.ST ), the world's second-largest fashion retailer, reported a sharp rise in sales so far in June, with new collections selling well. _0"> Chief Executive Karl-Johan Persson said that although H&M had entered the third quarter with higher inventories than planned, June promotions had not started earlier than last year and appetite for marked-down clothes was good but more notably, new collections were selling better than expected. "What's great to see is that it's primarily full-price, the new collections, that sells well," he told Reuters on Wednesday. "That's where we over-achieve. There may of course be pent-up demand from a cold spring, who knows. But it feels good." (Reporting by Anna Ringstrom; Editing by David Holmes)

Interest rates on home mortgages rose last week to hit their highest level in over a year, sapping demand from potential homeowners, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday. _0"> Rates climbed 2 basis points to average 4.17 in the week ended June 14, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. It was the highest level since March of last year. After hovering around record lows, rates have surged for six weeks in a row, pushed higher by worries that the Federal Reserve could slow its stimulus program sooner than had been expected. Rates have accelerated by 58 basis points since the start of May. The Fed's bond purchases have kept borrowing rates, including mortgages, low. Though mortgage rates remain low by historical standards, the ultra-cheap mortgages have helped lure buyers back into the market and worries have crept in that higher rates could disrupt the still-young housing recovery. The rise in rates appeared to hold back homebuyers as MBA's season

Airbus ( id="symbol_EAD.PA_0">EAD.PA) sealed a long-awaited order for 25 A350-900 aircraft from Air France -KLM ( id="symbol_AIRF.PAAIRF.PA) worth $7.2 billion at list prices after Rolls-Royce ( id="symbol_RR.LRR.L) and the airline reached a deal over engine maintenance. _0"> The airline also took a further 25 options on the planes, the companies said at the Paris Airshow on Wednesday.   _1"> Industry sources had told Reuters on Tuesday the carrier was about to announce the deal after talks narrowly avoided collapse. _2"> Air France-KLM has been at loggerheads with suppliers over issues mainly including maintenance of the plane's Rolls-Royce engines ever since the deal was first mooted in 2011. Air France and Rolls had clashed over conflicting ideas for engine supply deals. The airline said on Wednesday, however, that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Rolls-Royce ( id="symbol_RR.L_3">RR.L) to equip the

President Barack Obama said on Wednesday a free trade agreement between the United States and the European Union could boost jobs and growth on both sides of the Atlantic and he also stressed the need for economic structural reforms. _0"> Speaking at a joint news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin, Obama also said: "We have a profound stake in each other's success. We agreed that there is more work to do. Not only do we need to grow but we also need to reform our economies structurally." (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Roberta Rampton)

Germany's trade union Verdi on Wednesday said it estimated that around 3,000 jobs will be cut at Commerzbank ( id="symbol_CBKG.DE_0">CBKG.DE) by 2016 under a negotiated severance deal. _0"> The trade union was negotiating job cuts in Germany . The 3,000 cuts do not include staff reductions at Hypothekenbank Frankfurt, a unit formerly known as Eurohypo.   (Reporting By Edward Taylor)

Bank of England policymakers acknowledged earlier this month that further market volatility could be on the way because of uncertainty about the direction of U.S. monetary policy, but came no closer to shifting their own stance. Minutes of its latest policy meeting, released on Wednesday, show the BoE remained deadlocked over whether to restart its own asset-buying stimulus, with outgoing Governor Mervyn King again in a minority voting for another 25 billion pounds ($39 billion) of asset purchases. The June 5-6 Monetary Policy Committee meeting, King's last, decided economic developments in Britain had been generally positive in the past month and consistent with the bank's May forecast of a slow but sustained recovery this year. However, the MPC said markets were less calm about expected actions by the Fed and the Bank of Japan , and that there was "potential for continued volatility". Some among those MPC members who oppose more asset purchases, or quantitativ

Lockheed Martin Corp ( id="symbol_LMT.N_0">LMT.N) has signed a contract with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd ( id="symbol_7011.T7011.T) to begin work on a final assembly and check-out plant for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in Japan , it said on Wednesday. _0"> Steve O'Bryan, Lockheed vice president on the F-35 program, announced the contract agreement at the Paris Airshow. He declined to give details on the value of the contract. _1"> A similar facility built in Italy to assemble F-35 jets in Europe cost an estimated 800 million Euros ($1.1 billion). (Reporting By Andrea Shalal-Esa; Editing by Greg Mahlich)

Men's Warehouse Zimmer : A Men's Warehouse Zimmer firing is trending in terms of top news today, and it has to do with a recent announcement from Men’s Warehouse on the ousting of George Zimmer — the popular voice and commercial face of the clothing company — from his role as executive chairman and possibly even being fired from the company, NBC Bay Area reported this Wednesday, June 19. The Men’s Warehouse Zimmer story began after the Men’s Warehouse official Board of Directors announced this week that they had removed George Zimmer from his leadership position in the successful company. The big question? There was no stated reason given for Zimmer’s alleged firing. “[We] expect to discuss with Mr. Zimmer the extent, if any, and terms of his ongoing relationship with the Company,” said the Board of Directors in their announcement. In addition to having Zimmer potentially terminated from Men’s Warehouse, the clothing company also reported that its shareholder

Boeing ( id="symbol_BA.N_0">BA.N) has won an order for 30 of its 737 MAX 8 aircraft worth $3 billion at list prices from leasing firm CIT Group ( id="symbol_CIT.NCIT.N), the two companies said at the Paris Airshow on Wednesday. _0"> The deal comprises 10 new aircraft and the conversion of 20 existing 737 orders, with deliveries due in 2019 and 2020, CIT said. It came two days after Boeing announced 737 MAX orders from SkyMark Airlines ( id="symbol_9204.T9204.T) and TUI Travel ( id="symbol_TT.LTT.L). _1"> CIT is also "seriously looking" at the 787-10 aircraft that Boeing launched on Tuesday, said Jeff Knittel, president of transportation finance at CIT. The 787-10 is the latest and largest variant of the 787 Dreamliner family of aircraft. _2"> With this new order, CIT has a total order book of 164 aircraft including next-generation 737s and 787s. _3"> As of the end of March, it owned or financed a fleet of abou

European aerospace group EADS ( id="symbol_EAD.PA_0">EAD.PA) said on Wednesday the window for a merger with BAE Systems ( id="symbol_BAES.LBAES.L) was "closed". _0"> "Considerations about a deal with BAE are water under the bridge; we have said this time and again, the window is closed," EADS chief spokesman Rainer Ohler said. _1"> The two companies abandoned plans to forge the world's largest defense company in October amid German opposition. The Financial Times reported in the headline of an article on Wednesday that EADS had left the door open to a new merger attempt with Europe's largest defense group. (Reporting by Tim Hepher; Editing by James Regan)

U.S. arms makers see rising foreign demand for fighter jets, missile defense systems and other weapons as countries modernize their forces and U.S. officials, facing tighter budgets, encourage allies to invest more in intelligence gathering and aerial refueling equipment. U.S. Air Force arms sales doubled from 2005 to 2011 and will likely remain strong in coming years, a senior Air Force official said at the Paris air show on Monday. The Paris gathering, which occurs every other year and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, has been dominated by the yearly scramble by Boeing Co ( id="symbol_BA.N_0">BA.N) and Airbus ( id="symbol_EAD.PA_1">EAD.PA) for commercial airplane orders, while the participation of U.S. military aircraft was prevented by across-the-board budget cuts. But in meeting rooms and receptions across Paris and the Le Bourget airfield, U.S. executives and government officials say they can barely keep up with demand for briefings on

Stocks were little changed on Wednesday before the Federal Reserve releases a statement which could provide clues about the Fed's future stimulus efforts, a key to the market's continued rally. The Fed will release a policy statement at 2 p.m., which will sum up policymakers' views on the economic outlook and may also shed light on when the Fed might scale back its bond-buying, meant to stimulate growth and bolster the shaky job market. Chairman Ben Bernanke will hold a news conference beginning at 2:30 p.m. He is likely to be asked about the timeline for winding down bond purchases, about inflation that is below the Fed's target and his views on being reappointed Fed chairman after his term expires in 2014. The S&P 500 has regained some losses in the last few days as confidence increased that the Fed will leave the current stimulus in place even if Bernanke nods at the need to begin reducing bond purchases later in the year. Seth Setrakian, partner and co-hea

Bankers who are reckless with customers' or taxpayers' money could face criminal charges and have bonuses and pensions clawed back, according to proposals backed by Britain's prime minister on Wednesday. Many Britons blame bankers' risk-taking for the 2008 financial crisis and subsequent economic slump and were furious when the former boss of RBS ( id="symbol_RBS.L_0">RBS.L) left the bank with a pension of almost 17 million pounds even after a state rescue. He later agreed to a cut and was stripped of his knighthood but it was one in a series of banking scandals that increased pressure on Prime Minister David Cameron to get tougher on a sector contributing billions of pounds to the British economy. The parliamentary commission on banking standards he set up last year after Barclays ( id="symbol_BARC.L_1">BARC.L) was fined for manipulating interest rate benchmarks said on Wednesday the law should be changed so that bankers found guilty of &

Half-way towards a lost decade for Europe's economy, pessimism persists about the political will to halt a worrying slide in the region's potential growth. Without sweeping reforms to boost productivity, Europe's output will remain sub-par, making it harder for governments to reduce debt burdens that are unsustainable financially and unemployment rates that are unsustainable socially. Leaders of the 27-nation bloc will have another chance to cut this Gordian knot at a summit in Brussels next week. True, the euro zone has belatedly made impressive efforts to contain its debt and banking crisis. The European Central Bank's promise to buy the bonds of vulnerable member states if necessary has averted the threat of a break-up of the single currency. Spain has wiped out a current account deficit that had reached 10.6 percent of GDP by 2008. Greece has narrowed its competitiveness gap by half since 2010, according to the International Monetary Fund. And in its Sprin

FedEx Corp ( id="symbol_FDX.N_0">FDX.N) reported a higher-than-expected quarterly profit on Wednesday, sending its shares higher, but the world's biggest air-freight company said it was cutting more capacity between the United States and Asia. The company, considered an economic bellwether because of the massive volume of goods it moves around the world, is still trying to adjust to increasing demand for cheaper ground transport rather than pricier but faster air shipping. In particular, the express unit, FedEx's biggest source of revenue, has suffered as more cost-conscious international customers opt to use container ships instead of costly overnight shipment by air. International priority shipment volumes fell 2 percent during the quarter, while international export revenue per package fell 2 percent as rates dropped. The company said earlier this month that it would permanently retire or will speed up the retirement of 86 aircraft and more than 300 engines

Vodafone ( id="symbol_VOD.L_0"> VOD.L ) is discussing a 7.6 billion euros ($10 billion) cash bid with Germany's No. 1 cable operator Kabel Deutschland ( id="symbol_KD8Gn.DE KD8Gn.DE ) and is confident its offer and absence of antitrust issues put it in a better position than rival Liberty Global, two sources familiar with its thinking said on Wednesday. _0"> Liberty Global ( id="symbol_LBTYA.O LBTYA.O ), which owns Unity Media, Germany's No. 2 cable operator, made an 85-euro-a-share offer on Tuesday, two people familiar with the matter said, just days after sources said Vodafone had offered 81-82 euros a share or 7.2 billion euros in cash.   _1"> Vodafone is now mulling an offer of about 85-86 euros a share, or at least 7.5 billion euros, a separate source close to the company told Reuters on Wednesday. _2"> Vodafone and Kabel Deutschland declined to comment. The British mobile operator had considered raising its initial offe

The Swiss lower house of parliament dealt a final death blow on Wednesday to a draft law aimed at protecting the country's banks from criminal charges in the United States for helping wealthy Americans to evade tax. _0"> The Swiss government has warned that the bill's failure could prompt impatient U.S. prosecutors to indict banks, although it could still invoke an executive order to allow them to hand over data to try to avert charges.   The bill was aimed at allowing banks to sidestep Swiss secrecy laws by disclosing their U.S. dealings in a bid to help them strike deals that are nevertheless expected to include fines that could cost the industry as much as $10 billion. Lawmakers from both the lower and upper houses of parliament agreed a statement saying they supported a solution to the long-running tax dispute and called on the government to allow banks to cooperate under existing laws. (Reporting By Katharina Bart; Editing by Emma Thomasson)

Fashion design duo Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana were on Wednesday handed a suspended prison sentence of one year and eight months for hiding hundreds of millions of euros from the tax authorities. The designers, who are nearly as famous as the stars they dress, were not present in court in Milan and have denied the charges. Given the complexity and length of the appeals process, they are unlikely to spend any time in jail.   Public prosecutor Gaetano Ruta had asked for two and a half years. The judge gave them a suspended sentence. A company spokesman declined to make an immediate comment. The success of Dolce and Gabbana's sexy corset dresses and sharply tailored suits favored by celebrities like Kylie Minogue, Kate Moss and Bryan Ferry have earned them a glamorous lifestyle. They hosted friend and client Madonna for her birthday in 2009 at their villa perched above the chic boating resort of Portofino. The case dates back to an investigation that began in 2008, when

Bagram Air Base attack : A Bagram Air Base attack Afghan Taliban claimed responsibility for an attack that killed four American troops and the Afghan government announced it was suspending negotiations with the US on an extended troop agreement today, casting a double shadow over peace talks between the US and the Taliban scheduled to begin tomorrow. Sky News reports that the Taliban acknowledged it was behind a rocket attack last night on Bagram Air Base, launched just hours after the US announced it would be holding peace talks with the Islamist group on Thursday. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said: "Last night two big rockets were launched at Bagram which hit the target. Four soldiers are dead and six others are wounded. The rockets caused a major fire." A senior defense official confirmed to NBC News that the four killed were Americans. Separately, the US and Afghanistan had been discussing an extended presence for American troops in the country

Orders at the Paris Airshow surpassed $100 billion on Wednesday, as planemakers Boeing and Airbus cashed in on demand for fuel-efficient jets and growth in both budget carriers and emerging markets. Ryanair, Europe's biggest low-cost airline, finalized an order for 175 Boeing 737-800 aircraft worth around $15.6 billion at list prices on day three of the aerospace industry's showcase event, the largest single order ever placed by a European airline with the U.S. group.   Ryanair Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said he was also working on an order for 200 or more of Boeing's next-generation 737 MAX planes that could be concluded this year, potentially worth around $20 billion at list prices. Not to be overshadowed, Airbus sealed a long-awaited order for 25 of its lightweight, wide-body A350 planes from Air France -KLM worth $7.2 billion at list prices, as previously reported by Reuters. It also firmed up a deal worth $8.6 billion for 30 more A350-900s from Singapore

Electric car maker Tesla Motors Inc will recall 1,228 of its 2013 Model S cars manufactured between May 10 and June 8 due to a defect in the mounting bracket of the rear seat. The fix will cost Tesla about $150,000 during the second quarter, company spokeswoman Shanna Hendriks said. Tesla will inspect and reinforce the bracket in all the cars built during this time period.   This is the first recall for the Model S, blemishing a clean public record for the electric sedan that received a rare, near-perfect score from influential Consumer Reports magazine. The U.S. automaker twice recalled its first model, the two-door Roadster sports car. In a statement posted on Tesla's website, Chief Executive Elon Musk said the Model S defect emerged after the factory made body side alignment changes that weakened the bracket. A worker at the plant's assembly line in California noticed the defect and reported it to managers, Tesla told the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Germany's second-largest lender Commerzbank ( id="symbol_CBKG.DE_0"> CBKG.DE ) said on Wednesday it will cut 5,200 jobs, about 12 percent of its 45,000 full-time staff, adding to job-shedding by banks across Europe. _0"> Banks including Lloyds ( id="symbol_LLOY.L LLOY.L ), state-owned Dutch bank ABN AMRO ABNNV.UL and HSBC ( id="symbol_HSBA.L HSBA.L ) have been cutting jobs this year as tougher regulation after the global financial crisis and weak investment returns squeeze profit margins.   _1"> Commerzbank, 17 percent state-owned since a bailout during the crisis, posted a net loss of 94 million euros ($126 million) in the first three months of this year and booked a 493 million euro restructuring charge linked to 4,000-6,000 job losses. Around 3,900 jobs will be eliminated at the core bank in Germany , including 1,800 cuts at the retail bank. These are part of a 2 billion euro overhaul announced in November, which includes a revamp of r

Apparel retailer Men's Wearhouse ( id="symbol_MW.N_0"> MW.N ) ousted Executive Chairman George Zimmer, the face of the company founded 40 years ago, sending its shares down as much as 6 percent. _0"> The company, which gave no reason for the dismissal, also postponed its annual shareholder meeting scheduled for later on Wednesday in order to renominate existing directors without Zimmer. "The board expects to discuss with Mr. Zimmer the extent, if any, and terms of his ongoing relationship with the company," Men's Wearhouse said in a terse statement. Company spokesman Ken Dennard said he had no comment beyond what was in the statement. Efforts to reach Zimmer were unsuccessful. A query posted on the "Ask George" section of the company's website, did not elicit an immediate response.   Zimmer, 64, has appeared in his own commercials since 1985 and is known for his line: "You're going to like the way you look. I guarante

BlackBerry shares fell nearly 4 percent on Tuesday after a Bernstein Research analyst cut his rating on the stock to "underperform" ahead of the company's quarterly earnings release next week. _0"> While Bernstein's Pierre Ferragu said he expected disappointing results from the smartphone maker, other analysts have bullish expectations, pointing to an even more volatile run for a generally volatile stock.   In the last few days, there have been are both upgrades and downgrades to the stock as BlackBerry seeks to win back market share it has lost to the likes of Apple Inc and Samsung Electronics with new smartphones powered by its BlackBerry 10 operating system. "The initial enthusiasm that we observed for Blackberry 10 devices now appears to be waning," Ferragu said in a note to clients. He also cut his price target on the company to $10 from $15. Shares of BlackBerry, which reports fiscal first-quarter results on June 28, fell 3.6 percent to

Six awarding-winning writers are among a group of 12 poets, authors and academics vying for the 2013 Warwick Prize for Writing with themes ranging from the Australian war effort in France to opium sellers in 19th century India. _0"> The prize, handed out every two years since 2009, was set up as an international, cross-disciplinary award to recognise excellence in the English language in any genre or form.   Organisers said in a statement that this year's longlist of nominees, unveiled on Wednesday, demonstrated the uniqueness of the award. "We have here books in every genre, from all around the world. The only difficulty now will be choosing a winner from among them," said one of three judges, Ian Sansom, from Britain's University of Warwick which founded the prize. The fiction nominees include British writer Julian Barnes for "The Sense of an Ending" that won the Man Booker prize two years ago as well as American writers Amy Espeseth for &qu

Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky's expressionist masterpiece "Studie zu Improvisation 3, 1909" was the highlight and leading indicator for a flat Christie's London Impressionist and modern art sale on Tuesday. The painting fell short of its top estimate and a record for the artist at auction when it sold for just more than $21 million, the world's largest auctioneers said on Tuesday. The early 20th century artist's vibrantly colored painting of a knight on horseback was the highlight of the sale and had a top estimate of $24.19 million. A similar painting set a $23 million record for Kandinsky's work last year. The Russian expressionist was not the only leading light in an auction series of 44 lots that also included works from Pablo Picasso, Henry Moore, René Magritte, Amedeo Modigliani and Paul Signac.   The auction total for the evening of 64.07 million pounds ($100 million) fell short of a pre-sale top estimate of 75.8 million pounds but was wel

Wholesale inventories rose modestly in April, the latest suggestion that restocking will not be much of a boost to economic growth in the second quarter. _0"> The Commerce Department said on Tuesday wholesale inventories increased 0.2 percent after a 0.3 percent rise in March. The rise in April was in line with expectations. Inventories are a key component of gross domestic product changes. Excluding autos, inventories were flat. This component goes into the calculation of GDP. Coming on the heels of data last week showing factory inventories rose 0.2 percent in April, it suggested that restocking probably would not contribute much to growth this quarter.   Inventories added more than half a percentage point to first-quarter GDP growth, which advanced at a 2.4 percent annual rate. Estimates for growth in the April-June period currently range below a 2.0 percent pace. The value of petroleum stocks fell 0.1 percent in April after declining 3.3 percent in March. Automotive

The number of job openings fell in April but more workers quit their jobs during the month, a potential sign of confidence in the nation's plodding labor market recovery. _0"> Job openings, a measure of labor demand, fell to 3.757 million during the month from 3.875 million in March, the Labor Department said on Tuesday. At the same time, the number of workers quitting their jobs rose to 2.251 million in April from 2.099 million in March. Economists generally view an increase in the number of quits as a sign workers are confident that they can find work elsewhere.   (Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by James Dalgleish)

If currency turbulence in emerging markets escalates into full-scale investor flight, the Federal Reserve may have a fresh headache in deciding when to slow its dollar printing policy. Given all the obvious influences on Fed policy - domestic inflation, jobless youths, long-term unemployment, stuttering credit creation or banking stability - gyrations on markets from Turkey to South Africa or South Korea may seem tangential. But an enmeshing of the United States and the economies of the developing world since the turn of the century means the link between U.S. monetary policy and currency runs on the other side of the world could be tighter than many assume. Another financial shock now in emerging economies that use vast holdings of U.S. Treasury bonds as capital insurance buffers could complicate a Fed exit from quantitative easing. "As with so many previous emerging crises, although the Fed often triggers the withdrawal, it's then forced to turn more accommodative by