Stocks mixed…Trademark board rules against Redskins name…Current account deficit jumps

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are little changed in early trading on Wall Street as investors wait for the latest policy action from the Federal Reserve. The Fed’s policy-making committee caps a two-day meeting this afternoon with a statement outlining the central bank’s plans and updating its economic forecasts. It’s expected to scale back its stimulus efforts another notch.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. Patent Office has ruled the Washington Redskins nickname is “disparaging of Native Americans” and that the team’s federal trademarks for the name must be canceled. The decision announced today by the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board is similar to one it issued in 1999. That ruling was overturned in 2003 in large part on a technicality. The new case was launched in 2006 by a group of Native Americans.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. current account deficit has hit its highest level in 18 months, due to a drop in U.S. exports and lower income from overseas investments. The Commerce Department says the deficit jumped to a seasonally adjusted $111.2 billion in the January-March quarter. That’s up from a revised total of $87.3 billion in the October-December quarter, which was the smallest in 14 years. The current account is the country’s broadest measure of trade, covering not only goods and services but also investment flows.

DALLAS (AP) — FedEx stock is up 4 percent after the company reported that its quarterly profit rose as growth in online shopping gave its ground-shipping business a lift. Earnings and revenue both topped Wall Street’s expectations.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of General Motors is back before Congress today, facing more questions about how the company handled the recall of 2.6 million small cars because of a problem with ignition switches. A congressional aide said members have more questions about just how much Mary Barra (BAHR’-uh) knew about the problem when she was the company’s product development chief.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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