WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
Rising oil, copper and iron ore prices have helped push the Australian dollar to a fresh 10-month high.
At 0700 AEST on Wednesday, the local unit was trading at 78.13 US cents, up from 77.96 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open higher after better-than-expected earnings from US companies Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson pushed the S&P briefly over 2,100, within 30 points of its record high.
At 0645 AEST on Wednesday, the share price index was up 31 points at 5,212.
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ELSEWHERE:
SAN FRANCISCO - Intel says it will cut 12,000 jobs - about 11 per cent of its work force - as it reorganises to confront a decline in sales of personal computers.
BEIJING - Under pressure to curb steel output and relieve a global glut, China says its production actually hit a record high last month as rising prices, and profits, encouraged mills that had been shut or suspended to resume production.
NEW YORK - Johnson & Johnson beat Wall Street's modest expectations despite a 0.6 per cent decline in first-quarter profit, as higher sales of new prescription drugs and other key medicines nearly offset a big hit from the strong dollar.
NEW YORK - Philip Morris International has reported a drop in first-quarter profit on lower cigarette sales volume.
NEW YORK - Harley-Davidson Inc has reported higher-than-expected quarterly sales and earnings as sales of new motorcycles rose worldwide, sending its shares up 2.2 per cent.
BRUSSELS - Japanese drinks group Asahi says it has reached an agreement with brewing giant Anheuser-Busch InBev to buy the Peroni, Grolsch and Meantime brands and related businesses, excluding certain US rights.
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia Airlines says chief executive Christoph Mueller will leave his job in September, well ahead of the end of his three-year contract, because of his "changing personal circumstances".
