By Alister Bull and Pedro da Costa WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Wednesday the central bank expects to slow the pace of its bond purchases later this year and bring them to a halt around mid-2014, comments that weighed on stocks and pushed bond yields to a 15-month high. The Fed expects moderate growth to lead to continuing healing in the job market as headwinds facing the economy ease, Bernanke said. He also said policymakers expect inflation to move back up toward their long-term 2 percent goal. ...

By Michelle Sierra NEW YORK (Reuters) - Carl Icahn reiterated his interest in owning Dell Inc and said the $5.2 billion in financing he's putting together to back his bid for the company continues to move forward as planned. The comments came in a telephone interview Tuesday, echoing statements he made earlier in the day in an open letter to Dell shareholders. "Nothing has changed regarding the financing," Icahn said. "We expect to have $5.2 billion in the next couple of weeks. Our investment bank is already committing $1.6 billion and my affiliates and I would provide $2 billion, if ...