WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The Federal Reserve resumed a two-day meeting on Wednesday that was expected to end with a vow to do whatever it takes to turn back the U.S. economy’s deep recession but no new concrete steps to do so.

A Daily Politics quiz tests some of the EU stories in the UK press to find out if they really were true.

BEIJING/HONG KONG (Reuters) – China has rejected Coca-Cola’s planned $2.4 billion acquisition of top juice maker Huiyuan Juice, saying the deal would have been bad for competition.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. consumer prices rose in February on higher gasoline and apparel prices, government data showed on Wednesday, calming fears of deflation for now.

BANGALORE (Reuters) – IBM is in talks to buy Sun Microsystems Inc for at least $6.5 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported, in a deal that could bolster their computer server products against rivals such as Hewlett-Packard Co.

ROME (Reuters) – Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said he hoped to meet U.S. President Barack Obama and expressed his willingness to help mediate between the West and Iran.

Singapore’s economy is shrinking at a faster pace than at any time in its recent history.

SEOUL (Reuters) – Japan will clear the way for the deployment of ballistic missile interceptors as it prepares for the possibility a North Korean rocket could fall toward its territory, Kyodo news agency reported on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama and his national security advisers are considering expanding the covert U.S. war in Pakistan far beyond the tribal areas near the border with Afghanistan, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.

(Reuters) – The chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform has asked for records on the $3.62 billion of year-end bonuses at Merrill Lynch, to see if the panel was misled about the payments, the Wall Street Journal said.