U.S. markets turn lower Wednesday
NEW YORK, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. markets edged lower Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve left its monetary policy unchanged.
The central bank said late Tuesday it would continue to reinvest proceeds from its securities profile in Treasuries, but would not expand the program at this time. The bank's key overnight lending rate was left unchanged at zero to 1.25 percent.
In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average gave up 30.84 points, 0.29 percent, to 10,730.19. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 5.85 points, 0.51 percent, to 1,133.93. The Nasdaq composite index dropped 20.83 points, 0.89 percent, to 2,328.52.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 11/32 to yield 2.539 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3403 from Tuesday's $1.3235. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 84.46 yen from Tuesday's 85.10 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.37 percent, 35.79, to 9,566.32.
EU mulls gender quotas for corporations
BRUSSELS, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- European Union justice commissioner Viviane Reding said European corporations might require quotas to increase the number of women in executive posts.
"I have not been an advocate of quotas for woman in senior business posts in the past, but given the lack of progress in this area, we might in the future have to consider taking initiatives at the European level," Reding said in a written statement reported in the EUobserver Wednesday.
Reding said she would meet with top corporate officials in the spring before she made a formal recommendation to increase the number of women in boardrooms.
Currently, women make up 10 percent of boardroom members, far fewer than their percentage in the workforce, which is close to 50 percent. Women also make up more than 50 percent of university graduates in Europe, the EUobserver said.
Reding said, "Depending on the outcome of this dialogue with industry, I will consider whether further initiatives will be necessary in 2012."
In Europe, Norway has already mandated woman make up 40 percent of public company board members and Britain is considering adopting quotas as a "last resort" said Mervyn Davies, who heads a government commission on gender issues.
Davies said woman make up only 7 percent of the board members at FTSE 250 companies.
Retail sales down slightly in Canada
OTTAWA, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Retail sales in Canada declined slightly in July, with sharp drops in sales of furniture, home furnishings and electronics, the government said.
Statistics Canada said total sales dropped 0.1 percent in current dollars to $35.9 billion in the month.
Home furnishing stores reported a drop of 15 percent, while furniture store sales fell 4.5 percent. Sales of electronic goods fell 4.9 percent, the report said.
Garden equipment and building material sales receipts fell 2.3 percent, falling for the fourth consecutive month.
After three months of declines, sales at general merchandise stores rose 2.4 percent, leading the increases. Automobile sales rose 1 percent compared to June, while sales at gasoline stations rose 0.7 percent.
In regional data, the province of Manitoba saw the largest increase in sales, up 1.6 percent, while British Columbia reported the largest decline, down 0.4 percent.
Brewer tries Bud samples to punch up sales
ST. LOUIS, Sept. 22 (UPI) -- Anheuser-Busch is expected to announce it will give away free beer to lure customers back to its ailing Budweiser brand, USA reported Wednesday.
Budweiser has slipped from No. 16 in a national brand recognition poll in 2003 to No. 220, the newspaper reported. Sales have also fallen, dropping 9 percent in 2009 and 2010.
The company's latest marketing ploy includes free beer samples in 6-ounce and 12-ounce portions with the aim of handing out 500,000 samples of Bud by mid-October.
On Sept. 29, the company is hosting a "Budweiser National Happy Hour," with samples provided to pubs and restaurants. Anheuser-Busch is also working with Facebook to funnel freebies to participants on their 22nd birthdays.
Brand marketing consultant Robert Passikoff said turning around Budweiser's slide is an uphill battle.
"They're in trouble because they don't know how to talk to consumers. They no longer know how to create an emotional bond," he said.
But Anheuser-Busch President Dave Peacock said, "Consumers have a high awareness of the brand, but some haven't tried it in a long time."
"Brands can come back," he said.
