WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is lower as it resumes its trend downwards sparked by the US Federal Reserve's decision to scale back its economic stimulus program.
At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the local unit was trading at 88.90 US cents, down from 89.36 cents on New Year's Eve, Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to start 2014 flat amid likely quiet trade following the New Year's public holiday.
At 0645 AEDT on Thursday, the March share price index futures contract was unchanged at 5,318.
ELSEWHERE:
ROME - Italy's Fiat says it's struck a deal to buy up the remainder of Chrysler from the US auto workers' pension fund for $US1.75 billion ($A1.9 billion), paving the way for a full merger to create a new global car giant.
NEW DELHI - India aims to throw open its doors wider to overseas investors in coming weeks, a minister says, as it seeks to spur a weak economy before the general election.
NEW DELHI - India has cancelled a 560 million euros ($A873.84 million) contract for 12 helicopters after Italian defence giant Finmeccanica was accused of bribing Indian contacts to secure the deal.
RIGA, Latvia - Latvia has woken up to both a New Year and a new currency after the ex-Soviet Baltic state swapped its cherished lats for the euro at midnight, becoming the 18th member of the troubled eurozone.
ATHENS - Greece has assumed the presidency of the European Union, starting 2014 with a promise by the government to pull the country out of a six-year recession, keep a balanced budget, and effectively end a financial crisis that rattled the euro.
DENVER, Colorado - America's first retail stores selling marijuana have open for business in Colorado, putting the western state in the vanguard of the country's evolving attitudes on legalising the drug.
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