WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has slightly eased off its post-Reserve Bank policy meeting rally.
At 0630 AEDT on Wednesday, the currency was trading at 71.91 US cents, down from 71.95 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open higher following lifts in US and European stocks and after the Reserve Bank hinted there could be another interest rate cut.
At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was up 29 points at 5,258.
ELSEWHERE:
LONDON - Britain and Kazakhstan have signed trade deals worth STG3 billion ($A6.48 billion) as London rolled out the red carpet for the country's autocratic President Nursultan Nazarbayev.
WASHINGTON - New orders for US manufactured goods fell for a second consecutive month in September, dragged down largely by a drop in commercial plane orders.
WASHINGTON - Shoppers flocked to US car dealerships in October with most automakers reporting strong sales gains from a year ago.
BERLIN - German auto giant Volkswagen says an internal probe in the wake of its pollution cheating revelations had found that 800,000 more vehicles showed "inconsistencies" related to carbon emissions.
NEW YORK - Volkswagen sales in the US market appeared to take a hit last month from the company's huge emissions scandal, coming in flat amid overall sales that grew about 11.5 per cent.
WASHINGTON - US auto safety regulators have announced a record $US200 million ($A280.33 million) fine against Takata for providing inadequate and inaccurate information about its dangerously explosive airbags installed in millions of cars.
SAN FRANCISCO - US online giant Amazon, which has led the bookselling industry's shift to the internet, is opening its first physical bookstore.
