U.S. shares headed for a mixed start on Wednesday after the previous session's record close, as investors sift through fresh corporate earnings and wait for the minutes from the Federal Reserve's last policy-setting meeting. Applied Materials, Charming Shoppes, Men's Wearhouse, Network Appliance, Petsmart, Talbots, Tetra Tech and Tyco are among the companies reporting on Wednesday. Boeing could stand out after the Wall Street Journal said the plane maker was poised to receive more than $10 billion worth of additional business in the coming weeks, and NYSE Group may extend recent gains after Deutsche Boerse dropped its bid for Euronext. This lifted a major hurdle for NYSE to complete its planned takeover of Euronext. The publication of the Fed's minutes at 1900 GMT will likely drive sentiment among equity investors, who are wary that lingering inflationary pressures may force the U.S. central bank to consider raising borrowing costs further at a time when the world's biggest economy is showing signs of slowdown. But a sharp tumble in October producer prices and comments from St Louis Fed President William Poole, saying the odds of another rate hike were about the same as a rate cut, fuelled hopes that the Fed was adopting a more dovish stance. "If the Federal Reserve signals a change in focus from inflation risk to economic growth slowdown, this would be a significant basis change in what will drive future interest rate moves," said Martin Slaney, head of spread betting at GFT Global Markets in London Read the full article | 
