WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is weaker as commodity prices continue to plummet.
At 0630 AEDT on Wednesday, the currency was trading at 72.07 US cents, down from 72.25 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open lower following the negative lead of international bourses with renewed concern about the prospects for global economic growth.
At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was down 25 points at 5,084.
ELSEWHERE:
MEXICO CITY - Mexico's government says it will invest $US23 billion ($A31.65 billion) at refineries to slash greenhouse gas emissions from petrol by 90 per cent and cut several tonnes produced by four facilities.
LONDON - British weekly household spending rose in 2014 to its highest since before the global financial downturn but remained below pre-crisis level, official data shows.
WASHINGTON - As negotiations over a $US1 trillion ($A1.38 trillion) spending bill drag on, Republican leaders in the US House of Representatives say they'll seek to pass a stop-gap spending bill to avoid a government shutdown early on Saturday.
WASHINGTON - The United States has accused China of tax discrimination against foreign-made aircraft in a complaint lodged with the World Trade Organization.
LONDON - Global mining giant Anglo American has announced a "radical" restructuring of the firm that will slash its workforce by almost two-thirds, as commodity prices crash on world markets.
PARIS - The economic impact of last month's attacks in Paris will likely wipe a quarter off the growth that had been expected in the final three months of the year, the Bank of France says.
BERLIN - German carmaker Audi has found simple technical fixes for luxury diesel vehicles fitted with software found to have enabled engines to evade US emissions limits, its chief executive said as the brand steps up efforts to recover from the scandal.
PARIS - Air France is to resume flights from its Paris hub to Tehran, a route suspended in 2008 after Iran was hit with international sanctions over its nuclear ambitions.
