Stocks mixed…GM expert: 19 deaths eligible for compensation…Apple: Record 4M orders of iPhones on Day 1

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed in afternoon trading on Wall Street as investors look ahead to the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting that starts tomorrow. The Fed is nearing the end of its bond-buying stimulus program, and investors will be looking for clues about when the central bank will start raising interest rates. A weak report on U.S. manufacturing is also weighing on the stock market.

DETROIT (AP) — The death toll tied to faulty ignition switches in General Motors small cars has risen to 19, according to a compensation expert hired by the company. The number is likely to go higher. Kenneth Feinberg says he has determined that 19 wrongful death claims are eligible for payments from GM. Feinberg received 125 death claims due to the faulty switches in older-model small cars such as the Chevrolet Cobalt. The rest remain under review or require further documentation.

NEW YORK (AP) — Apple says it had more than 4 million advance orders of its new, larger iPhones in the first 24 hours, exceeding its initial supply. The company says its iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus will be delivered to customers starting Friday and throughout September, but many won’t be delivered until October. Phones will still be available Friday on a walk-in basis at Apple retail stores and from various wireless carriers and authorized Apple resellers.

NEW YORK (AP) — Microsoft will acquire the maker of the long-running hit game Minecraft for $2.5 billion as the company continues to invest in its Xbox gaming platform and looks to grab attention on mobile phones. The technology company says it will buy Stockholm-based game maker Mojang in a deal expected to close in late 2014. Minecraft lets users build in and explore a Lego-like virtual multi-player world. It’s been downloaded 100 million times on PC alone since its launch in 2009. It is the most popular online game on Xbox, and the top paid app for Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android operating system in the U.S.

PARIS (AP) — Air France has canceled at least half its flights around the world today as pilots began a weeklong strike. Air France-KLM, which is the national carrier for France and the Netherlands, says it can ensure just 48 percent of flights today, 40 percent tomorrow and perhaps less later in the week as unions protest against its savings program. A plan announced last week would transfer much of its European operations to a low-cost subsidiary, Transavia.

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

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