Wednesday Afternoon Business Brief

Stock indexes are slipping in afternoon trading on Wall Street. Caterpillar is pulling the Dow Jones industrial average lower after reporting weaker worldwide sales. A mixed report on housing is also weighing on the market.

• Minutes of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting last month show that some officials were concerned about the risks of the Fed's efforts to keep borrowing costs low. They worried that monthly purchases of Treasurys and mortgage bonds could escalate inflation, unsettle financial markets or cause the Fed to absorb losses once it begins selling its investment holdings. In the end, the Fed voted to continue its bond program until the job market improves.
• Yahoo is renovating the main entry into its website in an effort to get people to visit more frequently and stay longer. The makeover of Yahoo.com's home page made its debut today in the U.S., although it could take a few more days before everyone starts to see it. It's the first time Yahoo has redesigned the page in four years and the most notable change to the website since the Internet company hired Marissa Mayer as its CEO seven months ago.
• The Czech Republic is the latest country to detect horse meat in food products labeled as beef. The state-run Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority says DNA tests found horse meat in lasagna made by a frozen food processor. Horse meat has turned up across Europe in frozen supermarket meals, in pasta sauce, on restaurant menus, in school lunches and in hospital meals.
• A prominent U.S. businessman is blasting France's work ethic, saying employees spend half the day talking. Maurice Taylor, CEO of tire-maker Titan International, says he visited an ailing Goodyear factory and discovered that high-paid workers "only work for three hours" and spend three hours talking. He made the comments in a letter explaining why his company wouldn't buy the factory.