WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has rallied after the Reserve Bank shifted its stance on the need for the currency to drop.
At 0630 AEST on Wednesday, the currency was trading at 73.80 US cents, up from 73.77 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open lower after falls on Wall Street following a mixed batch of earnings reports and another big decline by technology giant Apple.
At 0645 AEST on Wednesday, the September share price index futures contract was down 16 points at 5,623.
ELSEWHERE:
ATHENS - The Athens stock exchange has slipped further as bank shares were battered for a second straight day, while Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos held a new round of talks with Greece's creditors on the terms of a mammoth new bailout.
MADRID - The number of registered unemployed fell in Spain for the sixth straight month in July, the latest sign of improvement in the eurozone's fourth-largest economy.
WASHINGTON - Orders to US factories increased in June, driven by a big gain in commercial aeroplanes.
LONDON - Britain's government has begun selling its majority stake in bailed-out Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), aiming to reduce state debt and kickstart the lender's full return to the private sector.
SAN FRANCISCO - Apple is slumping as the usually high-flying tech stock struggles with the burden of raised expectations.
BATTLE CREEK, Michigan - Kellogg's US breakfast foods division has had another decline in quarterly sales, but the company says trends in the cereal category are improving.
WASHINGTON - Mortgage giant Freddie Mac has posted net income of $US4.2 billion ($A5.77 billion) for the second quarter, up sharply from the same period of 2014.
LONDON - Dublin-based pharmaceutical group Shire says it has bid $US30 billion ($A40.65 billion) for US rival Baxalta to form a global biotech company focused on rare diseases.
LOS ANGELES - Disney's movie studio has boosted company earnings once again, with the debut of Avengers: Age of Ultron proving the continued strength of the Marvel superhero brand.
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