BC-APFN-Business News Preview

Among the stories Wednesday from The Associated Press:

TOP STORIES:

FEDERAL RESERVE

WASHINGTON — The global economy has stumbled, and financial markets have endured some stomach-churning moments. But that doesn't mean the Federal Reserve plans any major policy shifts. Ending a two-day discussion, the Fed is expected to announce the end of its monthly bond buying program. It's also expected to signal that it remains in no hurry to raise its key short-term interest rate. By Martin Crutsinger. SENT: 810 words. UPCOMING: 130 words after Fed statement is released at 2 p.m., 300 words by 2:45 p.m.

With:

— FED STIMULUS-Q&A — After 5 years and $4 trillion, the Federal Reserve is expected to announce the end of its unprecedented stimulus program known as quantitative easing, or QE. How well did the stimulus work and what happens when it goes away? By Matthew Craft. UPCOMING: 500 words by noon.

MARKETS & ECONOMY:

GDP-5 QUESTIONS

WASHINGTON — Is U.S. economic growth finally accelerating? And if so, which groups of Americans really stand to benefit? Those are two of the questions surrounding Thursday's report on the economy's growth in the July-September quarter. If growth reaches 3 percent or higher, it will be the fourth quarter in the past five to top that level — evidence of an economy strengthening far more than that of other major industrial nations. By Christopher S. Rugaber. SENT: 780 words, photos.

FINANCIAL MARKETS

NEW YORK — Major stock indexes trade in a tight range in the early going as investors wait for word from the Federal Reserve and mull over a mixed batch of earnings results. By Matthew Craft. SENT: 510 words, photos. UPCOMING: 700 words by 5 p.m.

CHINA-WORLD BANK

BEIJING — China's growth could decline to close to 7 percent next year but Beijing should focus on overhauling its economy instead of trying to stick to official growth targets, the World Bank said. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 470 words, photos.

INDUSTRY:

CALIFORNIA DROUGHT-RICE HARVEST

WOODLAND, Calif. — California's deepening drought is shrinking its rice harvest, and that's bad news for farmers, migratory birds and sushi lovers. The $5 billion industry exports rice to more than 100 countries and specializes in premium grains used in risotto, paella and sushi. Nearly all U.S. sushi restaurants use medium-grain rice grown in the Sacramento Valley. By Terrence Chea. SENT: 650 words, photos, video.

— SHELL-MIDSTREAM-IPO — Shell Midstream Partners LP is soaring in its debut on the New York Stock Exchange. Its common units jumped $9.04, or 39.3 percent, to $32.04 in Wednesday morning trading. SENT: 300 words.

— ISRAEL-SODASTREAM — A representative for Israeli drink maker SodaStream International Ltd. says its factory in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank will be relocated next year to southern Israel. SENT: 140 words.

— FRANCE-SANOFI — French drugmaker Sanofi sacks its CEO following a board room rift over the handling of one of France's largest publicly traded companies. SENT: 350 words, photo.

— NFL IN LONDON — An NFL franchise in London could generate more than $250 million a year for Britain, according to a study. The study by accountancy firm Deloitte, commissioned by the NFL and a London marketing agency, also casts doubt on the feasibility of a Super Bowl in the British capital and warns of a negative reaction from the United States. SENT: 610 words, photos.

— 3 WORLD TRADE CENTER — Developer Larry Silverstein has secured the funds to build his long-planned 3 World Trade Center. Silverstein has sold $1.6 billion worth of tax-exempt bonds, paving the way for construction of the tower by 2018. SENT: 100 words.

EARNINGS:

— SKOREA-EARNS-LG ELECTRONICS — South Korea's LG Electronics Inc. says its third-quarter profit jumped 87 percent over a year earlier as smartphone sales set a record high. By Youkyung Lee. SENT: 350 words, photos.

— WELLPOINT-FORECAST — WellPoint raises its 2014 earnings forecast again after trumping analyst expectations for the third quarter, as health insurers continue to ease earlier concerns that the nation's health care overhaul would hamstring the industry. SENT: 580 words, photo.

— GOODYEAR-RESULTS — Goodyear Tire's third-quarter net income slips 3 percent, but its adjusted earnings easily beat Wall Street expectations. SENT: 190 words, photo.

— GERMANY-EARNS-DEUTSCHE BANK — Deutsche Bank loses 92 million euros ($116 million) in the third quarter as the bank faced ongoing financial burdens from lawsuits, new regulations and its effort to shed risky past investments. SENT: 450 words.

— FRANCE-EARNS-TOTAL — French oil company Total SA says its earnings dropped in the third quarter due to the falling global price of oil. SENT: 140 words.

— NORWAY-EARNS-STATOIL — Norwegian energy company Statoil says impairment charges and lower oil and gas prices pushed it into net loss of 4.8 billion kroner ($727 million) in the third quarter. SENT: 130 words.

— ITALY-EARNS-FIAT CHRYSLER — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles returns to a profit in the third quarter thanks to a good performance by its luxury brands and gains in North America and Asia. SENT: 130 words.

AUTOS:

CHRYSLER RECALLS

DETROIT — Fiat Chrysler is recalling more than 566,000 trucks and SUVs in two recalls for malfunctioning fuel heaters that can cause fires and a software glitch can disable the electronic stability control. The recalls bring the newly merged company's total for the year to 6.4 million vehicles worldwide and 5.1 million in the U.S. as it continues to struggle with reliability problems. SENT: 440 words, photos. UPCOMING: Will incorporate ITALY-EARNS-FIAT CHRYSLER.

With:

FIAT CHRYSLER-FERRARI

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler Automobiles plans to spin off sports car maker Ferrari into a separate company. The company said that spinning off Ferrari was part of a plan to raise capital to support the new merged carmakers' future growth. SENT: 400 words, photos. Incorporates ITALY-EARNS-FIAT CHRYSLER.

— CHINA-VOLKSWAGEN-RECALL —Volkswagen and a Chinese partner are recalling 270,000 cars in China to repair a software problem that might prevent air bags from activating properly. SENT: 150 words.

TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:

SMART PAYMENT TERMINAL

SAN FRANCISCO — A Silicon Valley startup is hoping an upcoming transition to smarter credit and debit cards will persuade millions of U.S. merchants to buy savvier payment terminals for their stores, too. That's the point of Poynt, a versatile terminal built to take advantage of rules requiring stores to be equipped to handle payment cards with computer chips by October 2015 to avoid financial liability for fraudulent transactions. By Michael Liedtke. SENT: 470 words, photo.

SPACE STATION

ATLANTIC, Va. — The owners of a commercial supply ship that exploded moments after liftoff promised to find the cause of the failed delivery mission to the International Space Station and warned residents to not touch any debris they might stumble across from the craft, which was carrying hazardous materials. By Brock Vergakis and Marcia Dunn. Crews planned to hit the ground at daybreak Wednesday to search for pieces of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo module, which blew up Tuesday night just moments after lifting off. SENT: 1,000 words, photos, video.

With:

— ORBITAL SCIENCES-STOCK — Shares of Orbital Sciences tumble in morning trading after the aerospace company's unmanned rocket bound for the International Space Station exploded moments after liftoff on Tuesday evening. SENT: 310 words, photo.

And:

— SPACE STATION-SUPPLY SHIP — Just hours after an American cargo run to the International Space Station ended in flames, a Russian supply ship has arrived at the station with a load of fresh supplies. SENT: 140 words, photos, video.

INTERNATIONAL:

BELGIUM-FOOD TRUCKS

ANTWERP, Belgium — One sells a cheeseburger whose patty is 100 percent cheese, another sells meatballs the size of baseballs and a third tempts palates with insects on a skewer. Belgium takes its food seriously — and adventurously — so when the American-style food trucks rolled in, there was little doubt the result would be a bit different. By Virginia Mayo. SENT: 490 words, photos.

— GERMANY-RUSSIA-SANCTIONS — German exports to Russia drop by more than a quarter in August over the same month a year ago as sanctions over Ukraine took an increasing toll. SENT: 140 words, photo.

— CHINA-PORT POLLUTION — China's busy ports fail to regulate heavy emissions of sulfur oxide and other pollutants mostly from cargo ships although they're the biggest source of air pollution in port cities such as Hong Kong, according to a new report. SENT: 410 words.

— HONG KONG-TYCOON EXPULSION — A Hong Kong tycoonis expelled from China's top government advisory body after he voiced doubts about the city's Beijing-backed leader, who is struggling to end monthlong democracy protests. By Kelvin Chan. SENT: 500 words, photos.

— INDIA-CORRUPTION — India's government hands over the names of more than 600 Indians with foreign bank accounts to the Supreme Court after public outrage over rampant tax evasion. SENT: 450 words, photos.

— TURKEY-MINE DISASTER — Rescue workers have been pumping water out of a coal mine in southern Turkey all night as relatives wait anxiously nearby after surging waters trapped 18 Turkish miners deep underground. SENT: 230 words, photos.