WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has softened, following the fortunes of global shares.
At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the local unit was trading at 72.02 US cents, down from 72.85 cents on Wednesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open slightly higher after mixed performance on Wall Street as plunging oil prices, low interest rates and turbulent global markets take a toll on banks.
At 0645 AEDT on Thursday, the share price index was up eight points at 4,863.
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ELSEWHERE:
LONDON - The British pound has traded near $US1.39 ($A1.93) for the first time in seven years, as concerns that Britons could leave the European Union deepened.
LONDON - Britain's departure from the European Union would threaten scientific research and jeopardise the 28-nation bloc's system of drug regulation, the European pharmaceutical industry says.
LONDON - Airbus Group expects the competitiveness of its British operations to fall if Britons vote to leave the European Union in a referendum, potentially threatening the scale of the planemaker's operations in the country.
RIO DE JANEIRO - The credit ratings agency Moody's has stripped Brazil of its investment grade status.
PARIS - France is seeking 1.6 billion euros ($1.76 billion) in back taxes from US internet giant Google, criticised for its use of aggressive tax optimisation techniques, a source at the finance ministry says.
LONDON - Britain's Committee of Public Accounts says the amount Google agreed to pay in a tax settlement with the government is "disproportionately small" when compared with the size of the company's business in the country.
GENEVA - The United States has won a ruling against India at the World Trade Organization after challenging the rules on the origin of solar cells and solar modules used in India's national solar power program.
LOS ANGELES - News Corp chief executive Robert Thomson says the global media company will continue to look to cut costs, but emphasised the importance of having "an editorial engine" strong enough to generate quality content.
