NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are heading higher in afternoon trading on Wall Street, after the Federal Reserve released the minutes of last month’s policy meeting. The minutes suggest the Fed is reluctant to raise interest rates any time soon. Energy stocks have been among the biggest decliners today as oil prices fell to their lowest level in more than a year.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Minutes of the Federal Reserve’s September policy meeting show that officials have moved away from linking any rate change to a specific period. They agreed they would begin raising interest rates only when measures of the economy’s health and inflation signal the time is right. The Fed decided to leave unchanged its statement saying that any increase in the short-term rate that it controls would not occur until a “considerable time” after it ends its monthly bond purchases.

WASHINGTON (AP) — AT&T will pay $105 million to settle government charges that it billed wireless customers for tens of millions of dollars in a practice known as cramming. The Federal Trade Commission says AT&T billed millions of customers for charges from third-party companies for services customers never asked for. The FTC says AT&T kept at least 35 percent of the unauthorized charges.

NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney shares have fallen nearly 10 percent today after the department store operator warned that its sales last month were weaker than expected and cut its outlook for a key sales measure for the current quarter. The company blames the sales shortfall on too much clearance merchandise a year ago, along with a weak sales environment for retailers. The warning overshadowed a new company strategy unveiled at its analysts’ meeting today that aims to boost sales by $2.55 billion over three years.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple has sent out invitations to an Oct. 16 event. In keeping with its usual practice, the company isn’t saying what it plans to announce. But it’s expected to show off new iPad models and an update to its Mac OS system. The company may also use the event to launch its new digital payment service, Apple Pay. The new iPhones released last month came with a wireless chip capable of making those payments.

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