The Federal Reserve has begun its two-day meeting, which is expected to yield upward revisions to its growth forecasts. No change in interest rate is expected till 2014. Global demand for its tablets drove Apple to nearly double its profit during the first quarter, sales jumped 59 per cent during the quarter to over $39 billion. Ratings agency Standard & Poor's cut its outlook on India to negative. The U.K. economy shrank in the first quarter as Britain slid into its first double-dip recession since the 1970s.
