UNITED STATES

The Aussie opens today lower at 0.8700 against the Greenback as mixed signals on the US housing front overnight cast shadows over the US economy in the lead up to the U.S. Federal Reserve's latest announcements tonight.

The Federal Reserve acknowledged a faltering pace of U.S. economic recovery on Wednesday as it renewed its vow to hold benchmark interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period.

Sales of new homes dropped a record 32.7 percent in May to the lowest level in at least four decades as the boost from a popular tax credit faded, adding to worries over a slowing economic recovery.

U.S. stocks fell in a volatile session on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve downgraded its assessment of the economic recovery as it vowed to keep cheap money flowing.

Toyota Motor Corp's lawyers faced off with product-liability attorneys in court on Wednesday over rules for safeguarding company trade secrets in litigation stemming from complaints about its cars racing out of control.

Connecticut's attorney general subpoenaed CVS Caremark Corp on Wednesday after the company threatened to shut down a consumer discount drug program rather than extend it to Medicaid patients.

Large banks would not have to set aside money to cover the cost of liquidating troubled financial firms under an agreement on Wednesday by U.S. lawmakers finalizing a sweeping rewrite of financial regulations.

Apple Inc has run out of white iPhone 4s on the eve of the launch of the hot-selling next-generation smartphone, the latest hiccup in the gadget's closely watched global roll-out.

The company that oversees Web addresses ending in .org said on Wednesday it was introducing extra security measures to guard against identity theft.

The Federal Reserve is expected to renew its promise to hold benchmark interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period on Wednesday and may acknowledge a slight slowdown in the pace of U.S. economic recovery.

Four days after U.S. securities regulators charged Goldman Sachs Group with civil fraud, Ash Williams, the top administrator for Florida's $138 billion in public investments, wanted to talk to someone at the Wall Street firm.

Eric Heinbockel recalls going on a Wall Street interview the day investment bank Bear Stearns collapsed. With his chances of landing a coveted finance job dwindling, the former Columbia University undergraduate began exploring more entrepreneurial options, eventually launching a business that lets customers build their own chocolate bars.

U.S. chief executive officers' view of the economy reached a four-year high in the second quarter, with more planning to add jobs over the next six months, according to a Business Roundtable survey.

Brands that use microblogging sites like Twitter to provide real-time responses to the public are winning a higher degree of trust from consumers, according to a study by a leading public relations firm.

Mortgage applications fell from a six-month peak last week as the lowest interest rates in over a year failed to foster demand for refinancing or home purchase loans.

Wall Street banks face a turning point on Wednesday as U.S. lawmakers are expected to spell out limits on a range of risky but lucrative trading practices in a sweeping rewrite of financial regulations.

Stocks dropped on Wednesday after data showed new home sales fell to its lowest level in at least four decades, adding to worries about a slowing economic recovery.

Philip Morris International , which sells Marlboro cigarettes and other brands internationally, has cut its full-year earnings outlook, hurt by a weak euro since April.

Blanche Lincoln, one of the influential U.S. senators spearheading financial reform, is pushing for a change in the proposed bill to benefit a bank predominantly owned by the Walton family of Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the Wall Street Journal said.

Agricultural Bank of China has set a floor price for the Hong Kong portion of its $23 billion stock market listing, according to a report, while sources said key investors have agreed to buy $5.45 billion of the shares.

Germany's budget savings policy risks destroying the European project and a collapse of the euro cannot be ruled out, billionaire investor George Soros said in a newspaper interview released on Wednesday.