Reuters

By Kirsty Needham and Lucy Craymer

SYDNEY/WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Regional security concerns will overshadow lucrative trade ties when China's Premier Li Qiang visits New Zealand and Australia this week, with the mood markedly different from the last Chinese premier's visit seven years ago.

Li arrives in New Zealand on Thursday, before travelling to Australia at the weekend, China's foreign ministry said.

Australia is the top... (continue reading...)

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures traded flat to slightly higher on Wednesday, as investors awaited a crucial inflation report and the conclusion of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting.

Markets have been broadly cautious this week, seeking clearer signs on the likely policy path, although a surge in Apple shares helped lift the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to record closing highs for the second consecutive session on Tuesday.

Apple's... (continue reading...)

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German technology group Robert Bosch is open to public listings of certain divisions as it explores financing options for acquisitions, although not as a group or in its core business as an auto supplier, the company chief executive said.

Bosch already has a great deal of expertise on the capital market as an issuer of bonds worth billions, CEO Stefan Hartung said at an event of the ICFW association for business reporters in... (continue reading...)

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Five medieval mummies preserved in the crypt of a Dublin church have likely been damaged beyond repair by a fire and water used to douse the flames, a church official said on Wednesday.

The five sets of remains, preserved for hundreds of years in the crypt of the 11th century St. Michan's Church in central Dublin, include the remains of a crusader and are a tourist attraction in the city.

An intruder broke into the... (continue reading...)

By Howard Schneider

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve is expected to leave interest rates unchanged on Wednesday, with new economic projections from the U.S. central bank's policymakers likely to show fewer rate cuts this year and a delayed start to monetary policy easing.

Fed officials will receive a new round of inflation data that could shape their outlook just hours before they conclude their latest two-day meeting and... (continue reading...)