Business Today: Futures flat as investors weigh Fed's economic outlook

Click to View in Browser 03/14/2012 Futures flat as investors weigh Fed's economic outlook NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock index futures were little changed on Wednesday as investors weighed comments from the Federal Reserve on the economy and banking sector against the recent five-day rally. Current account in Q4 widens more than expected WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The current account deficit widened much more than expected to $124.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2011, as imports rose and exports dropped, a government report showed on Wednesday. Import prices rise in February on petroleum WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Import prices rose in February on sharply higher petroleum costs, but there were little signs of underlying imported inflation pressures as food prices posted their largest decline in three years. Reynolds American to cut 10 percent of U.S. workforce (Reuters) - Cigarette maker Reynolds American Inc said it will reduce its U.S. workforce by 10 percent by the end of 2014, as it looks to cut costs to sustain profit growth. Mortgage purchase demand rose last week: MBA NEW YORK (Reuters) - Demand for home purchases picked up for the third week in a row last week, though applications for refinancing sagged, an industry group said on Wednesday. Apple gets record iPad pre-orders: Canaccord Genuity (Reuters) - Apple Inc is seeing record pre-orders for its latest iPad with wait times for shipping the tablet now reaching two to three weeks, said Canaccord Genuity analysts, who now expect the company to sell 65.6 million iPads this year. Departing Goldman banker slams "rip-off" culture LONDON (Reuters) - A Goldman Sachs banker has launched a withering attack on the bank in a newspaper column announcing his resignation, saying that several managing directors at the Wall Street firm had referred to their own clients as "muppets". UnitedHealth strikes Middle East deal with Al Sagr (Reuters) - UnitedHealth Group Inc , the largest U.S. health insurer by market value, is expanding in the Middle East through an alliance with Al Sagr National Insurance Co . Zynga files for $400 million secondary offering (Reuters) - Zynga Inc filed with regulators for a secondary stock offering of up to $400 million on Wednesday. Fed gives mostly high marks in bank stress tests (Reuters) - Most of the largest banks passed their annual stress test, according to the Federal Reserve, in a conservative report card that underscored the recovery of the financial sector but called out a few laggards, including Citigroup. Related Video UK Unemployment highest since 2009 Breakingviews: A UK 100-year bond bad news for pension funds Economic News Fed nods to better economy, mum on next move Rise in retail sales points to healthy consumer A daily digest of breaking business news, coverage of the US economy, major corporate news and the financial markets. Register Today   The latest Reuters articles on M&A, IPOs, private equity, hedge funds and regulatory updates delivered to your inbox each day. Register Today   » MORE NEWSLETTERS - 3 Times Square New York, NY 10036 USA © Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters Ensure delivery of Reuters Newsmails, add mail@nl.reuters.com to your address book. Details Subscribe to other Reuters newsletters. Unsubscribe from this newsletter. Follow us on Twitter Friend us on Facebook Forward to a friend