WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is hovering below 94 US cents amid easing concerns over the health of Portugal's biggest listed bank.
At 0630 AEST on Monday, the local currency was trading at 93.77 US cents, down from 93.87 cents on Friday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open higher after modest gains on Wall Street.
At 0630 AEST on Monday, the September share price index futures contract was UP 12 points at 5,466.
ELSEWHERE:
BRASILIA - The BRICS group of emerging powers will launch its own development bank at a summit this week, using its growing influence to establish a counterweight to US and European-dominated financial organisations.
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's second largest bank CIMB Group has secured central bank approval to commence merger talks with RHB Capital and Malaysia Building Society to create the country's biggest bank.
TOKYO - Japan's SoftBank and Deutsche Telekom of Germany have reached a basic agreement for a merger between their US affiliates Sprint and T-Mobile US, the business daily Nikkei reports.
SAN FRANCISCO - Yahoo says it has bought an Israel-based start-up specialising in streaming high-quality video to computers and mobile devices.
NEW YORK - Argentinian officials and hold-out bond holders have met separately with a US court-appointed mediator but failed to clinch a deal to resolve a dispute that may trigger a default by Buenos Aires.
WASHINGTON - The US government has imposed duties on imports of steel pipe from South Korea, India and seven other countries, ruling in favour of US steel producers and unions that had complained those countries were unfairly flooding the local market.
LISBON - Portuguese authorities have managed to ease wider market fears over the health of the country's biggest listed bank Banco Espirito Santo (BES), which is being hammered by its parent group's debt woes.
WASHINGTON - Online giant Amazon has sought permission for drone test flights in the United States, saying it is moving forward on plans for deliveries using the unmanned aircraft.
ROME - The UN food agency FAO has predicted that global farming will move increasingly towards meat and milk production and away from traditional rice and grain agriculture in line with changing consumer tastes.
FARNBOROUGH, BRITAIN - Aircraft makers gathering for the Farnborough airshow this week look to build on already robust
passenger plane sales, and Airbus may use the event to launch an upgrade of its A330 jet.
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