WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is higher amid a turnaround in global market sentiment following gains in Chinese stocks and most commodities.
At 0630 AEDT on Friday, the local unit was trading at 69.84 US cents, up from 69.42 cents on Thursday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open higher after Wall Street rallied strongly, with the S&P 500 crossing a key technical level, as a rebound in oil prices boosted energy companies.
At 0645 AEDT on Friday, the share price index was up 61 points at 4,939.
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ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits has unexpectedly risen but remains at levels associated with a healthy labour market.
LONDON - The Bank of England has kept interest rates at record lows once more amid mounting gloom on the global economy and slowing UK growth.
BRUSSELS - The European Investment Bank (EIB) has stopped making loans to Volkswagen pending an investigation into whether some of its previous funding could have been used by the German carmaker to cheat diesel emissions tests.
PARIS - French carmaker Renault says fraud investigators have inspected three of its sites in an emissions probe, news that has wiped billions off its market value in an echo of the scandal engulfing German rival Volkswagen.
NEW YORK - JPMorgan Chase & Co says its fourth-quarter profits has risen nine per cent from a year earlier, helped by strong performance in its consumer banking division.
LONDON - Lower prices and more staff helped Tesco post a better- than-expected result over the key Christmas period, suggesting Britain's biggest supermarket chain may finally be recovering from several years of turmoil.
NEW YORK - Southern Comfort's parent company says it is selling the iconic brand to a rival liquor company as part of a $US543.5 million ($A778.26 million) deal.
