Midday Report: Another C-Suite Shakeup at Viacom; U.S. Stocks Climb Ahead of Fed

Stocks held higher as investors awaited a policy decision from the Federal Reserve. The central bank will close out its two-day meeting this afternoon with an announcement, economic forecasts and a press conference. Crude oil jumped on after the latest weekly read on U.S. inventories showed a major decline, far better than an expected increase. Worries over domestic oversupply have recently dragged on crude prices. Viacom's (VIA.B) newly-minted interim CEO Tom Dooley will step down by mid-November amid a major reshuffle of the C-suite. The media company also guided for a below-consensus fourth quarter and halved its quarterly dividend. Target (TGT) - Get Report rose after authorizing a new $5 billion stock repurchase program. The new buybacks will begin once the current $10 billion program is depleted.