LONDON (MarketWatch)--European stock markets moved lower in choppy action on Wednesday, as investors remained cautious ahead of the much-anticipated monetary policy decision from the U.S.

TORONTO - The Bank of Canada is likely to start raising its benchmark interest rate in July 2014, a full year before the U.S. Federal Reserve, BMO's chief economist Douglas Porter said Wednesday.

Grocery giant Loblaw Cos. Ltd. is testing a new discount store in Calgary as it braces for intensified competition from low-cost U.S.

Market watchers and the financial community will keep a close eye on Stephen Poloz at a speech in Burlington, Ont., on Wednesday, the central bank governor's first public speech since ascending to the top job at the Bank of Canada earlier this month.

TORONTO - Canada's growth outlook appears to be stronger than previously thought, thanks to an improving trade picture and the strength of corporate balance sheets, economists at the Royal Bank of Canada said Wednesday.