Business Today: Stock futures edge lower ahead of data, Fed minutes

		Click to View in Browser 02/20/2013 Stock futures edge lower ahead of data, Fed minutes NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Wednesday, ahead of data on the housing market and inflation, as well as minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee's January meeting. Housing starts drop on multi-family; permits at four-year high WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Groundbreaking to build new U.S. homes fell in January but new permits for construction rose to a 4 1/2-year high, reinforcing expectations the housing market will support economic growth this year. Office Depot to buy OfficeMax for $1.2 billion in stock (Reuters) - Office Depot Inc said on Wednesday that it would buy smaller rival OfficeMax Inc for $1.17 billion in stock to get more clout with suppliers and better compete against Staples Inc and Amazon.com Inc. Boeing engineers split on contract, talks to resume SEATTLE (Reuters) - The largest group of engineers working at Boeing Co approved the planemaker's latest contract offer in a vote on Tuesday, likely paving the way for a full agreement as Boeing attempts to focus its resources on fixing battery problems on its 787 Dreamliner. EU executive gets national budget vetting powers BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Commission will check euro zone countries' draft budgets to verify if they are in line with EU rules and will ask for changes if they are not, under a deal struck on Wednesday with the European Parliament. Food lifts producer prices in January WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Producer prices rose in January for the first time in four months as rising food costs offset weak gasoline prices, but sluggish economic growth should keep price pressures muted. BHP's CEO-elect says M&A not excluded, but not core LONDON (Reuters) - The incoming boss of BHP Billiton , Andrew Mackenzie, said on Wednesday the world's largest miner would not exclude deals under his stewardship, though its strategy would remain focused on current assets. Yahoo co-founder Jerry Yang joins Lenovo board as observer HONG KONG (Reuters) - Lenovo Group said Yahoo! co-founder Jerry Yang is to join its board as an observer, as the world's No. 2 maker of PCs expands its mobile business to tap global demand for smartphones and tablets. Agricole aims for positive 2013 after historic loss PARIS (Reuters) - Credit Agricole posted its biggest full-year loss since it went public 11 years ago after an unexpected 838 million euro tax demand from France's socialist government compounded weaker revenues and hefty asset writedowns. Sony set to make pre-emptive strike on Microsoft with PS4 TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp is expected to showcase a new PlayStation console on Wednesday in a pre-emptive strike against Microsoft Corp's bid to make its Xbox the world's leading hub for household entertainment. Related Video U.S. Morning Call: Sony to unveil new PlayStation console Match fixing tarnishes the beautiful game Economic News Housing starts drop on multi-family; permits at four-year high Food lifts producer prices in January 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