The US Federal Reserve’s first meeting under the leadership of Janet Yellen has proceeded predominantly as expected. Yellen confirmed that the Fed intends to continue the process of ‘tapering’ its bond buying initiative. A further $10 billion will be shaved off monthly Fed bond purchases as forecast on this page (Wall Street simmers..) yesterday evening. This represents the third consecutive tightening of Fed stimulus efforts. Yellen also revealed a Fed decision to discard its original plan to use the unemployment rate as a benchmark for bumping interest rates. Outgoing Fed chair Ben Bernanke had previously stated that overnight borrowing costs would be increased once a 6.5% unemployment rate had been reached.

Chiquita Brands International and Irish tropical fruit company Fyffes announced a $526 million merger in a joint statement today. The all stock deal will establish the world’s largest banana company, creating a new entity called ChiquitaFyffes. The new firm will have 32,000 employees and will take in approximately $4.6 billion in annual revenue. Domiciled in Ireland, ChiquitaFyffes’ shares will be traded on the New York Stock Exchange upon the deal’s official finalization. Chiquita presently account for 22% of the global banana market, while Fyffes make up a further 7%. Thus ChiquitaFyffes’ 29% will see it surpass Dole Foods as global leader in banana distribution.