WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar rose to its highest level in almost five months after the release of solid Chinese economic data and expectations the Reserve Bank of Australia won't be raising the cash rate soon.
At 0630 AEDT on Monday, the local unit was trading at 96.74 US cents, up from 96.27 cents on Friday.
And the Australian market looks set to open higher following strong gains on Wall Street that took the S&P 500 to a new all-time high and gave the Nasdaq a 1.3 per cent gain.
At 0645 AEDT on Monday, the December share price index futures contract was up 22 points at 5,343.
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ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - The recent US government shutdown and debt limit showdown have bruised the nation's economy and "can never happen again", Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says.
WASHINGTON - Banking giant JPMorgan Chase has reportedly reached a tentative agreement to pay a record $13 billion ($A13.44 billion) fine to the Justice Department to settle probes into its residential mortgage-backed securities.
SEOUL - South Korea and Malaysia have signed a currency swap agreement worth $US4.7 billion ($A4.89 billion), Seoul's central bank says, in a move to encourage bilateral trade and help curb currency swings.
JERUSALEM - Israel has appointed the country's deputy central bank chief as the institution's next governor, after a months-long process in which two previous selections withdrew.
BRASILIA - Brazil's energy minister has defended an auction of concessions in a vast offshore oil field, saying it did not mean the country's oil reserves were being privatised.
LOS ANGELES - A shareholder-led revolt to dump Rupert Murdoch as chairman of his new TV and film conglomerate 21st Century Fox has failed, but the mogul's sons Lachlan and James suffered ego-bruising protest votes.
PUNGESTI - Around 1000 protesters have rallied in the northeastern Romanian village of Pungesti against plans by US energy giant Chevron to drill for shale gas.
