Stocks: Wednesday’s review

European stocks closed little changed as investors waited for the Federal Reserve to announce its decisions on interest rates and economic stimulus, while American lawmakers continued talks on a new budget.

Consumer prices in Germany in November, down 0.1% compared to the previous month and rose by 1.9% compared with the same period last year. German CPI, harmonized according to EU standards, fell by 0.2% compared to the previous month and up 1.9% compared with the same period last year.

The UK unemployment rate by the standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO) has dropped to 7.8% in August-October against 8.0% in May-July. The number of unemployed in the same period fell by 82,000, to 2.51 million. This is the most significant indicator fell from March-May 2001.

National benchmark indexes advanced in 12 of the 18 western European markets. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 gained 0.4 percent, while France’s CAC 40 was little changed. Germany’s DAX rose 0.3 percent.

Peugeot jumped 10 percent to 5.42 euros after La Tribune reported that Algeria may take a stake in Europe’s second- largest carmaker. Francois Hollande’s envoy Jean-Pierre Raffarin discussed a possible investment when he visited the North African country in November, the paper said. Separately, Peugeot said it will eliminate 1,500 job positions in addition to the 8,000 announced in July. The auto company, whose shares have plummeted 49 percent so far this year, will make the cuts by not replacing people who leave, according to spokesman Jonathan Goodman.

Wacker Chemie AG, the second-biggest maker of solar-grade silicon, surged 12 percent to 48.61 euros. China’s ministry of science and technology announced a second round of solar subsidies for this year, identifying projects with 2.8 gigawatts of power as eligible for state aid.

Barry Callebaut AG dropped 2.3 percent to 919 Swiss francs after saying it will buy Singapore-based Petra Foods’ cocoa- ingredients unit for $950 million. The deal, scheduled to be completed in mid-2013, will be the biggest acquisition made by the Swiss maker of bulk chocolate.