WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has slipped back below 85 US cents following stronger comments from the central bank about the level of the currency.
At 0630 AEDT on Wednesday, the local currency was trading at 84.45 US cents, down from 85.16 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat after US stocks performed strongly, lifting more than half a per cent, as construction spending data boosted confidence in the economy.
At 0645 AEST on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was up three points at 5,293.
ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - Chief executives of major US companies are slightly less optimistic about the economy than three months ago and plan to cut capital spending next year, according to a survey published Tuesday.
WASHINGTON - US spending on construction rebounded in October after a dip in September, helped by a rise in home building, the Commerce Department says.
WASHINGTON - US home prices rose at a faster year-over-year pace in October than in September, snapping a seven-month slowdown.
MOSCOW - The Russian economy ministry has slashed its economic forecast for 2015, announcing a contraction of 0.8 per cent due to the pressure of Western sanctions over the Ukraine crisis and falling oil prices.
MADRID - Spain's jobless queue shrank in November, ending three months of increases, as the economy slowly recovered after emerging in mid-2013 from a two-year recession, the government says.
LONDON - Britain has agreed to provide a financial guarantee to a Franco-Japanese joint venture that is seeking to build Europe's largest new nuclear power development in the country.
LONDON - British insurance giant Aviva has confirmed a deal to buy rival Friends Life for more than STG5.0 billion to create the country's biggest insurer.
THE HAGUE - Anglo-Dutch food and cosmetics giant Unilever has bought best-selling US-based gelato maker Talenti for an undisclosed amount, boosting its stake in the under-performing ice cream market.
TOKYO - Japanese drug maker Otsuka Pharmaceutical has agreed to buy US drugmaker Avanir Pharmaceuticals for $US3.54 billion ($A3.83 billion).
NEW YORK - Corning is buying Samsung Electronics' fibre optics business, which will help bolster its portfolio of optical communications products in Asia.
SINGAPORE - Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC will buy IndCor Properties, one of the biggest industrial landlords in the US, from parent firm Blackstone for a whopping $US8.1 billion ($A8.76 billion), the companies say.
NEW YORK - MasterCard says it will boost its quarterly dividend more than 45 per cent and approved a plan to buy back up to $US3.75 billion ($A4.06 billion) of its own stock.
LONDON - British department store chain John Lewis enjoyed record sales last week as Black Friday bargain-hunters snapped up tablet computers and televisions in the crucial run-up to Christmas.
NEW YORK - US car giants General Motors and Chrysler have ridden lower petrol prices and aggressive holiday promotions to higher November sales, while Ford Motor reported another decline.
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