WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has fared well overnight despite global oil prices and equities struggling, as the Reserve Bank's policy meeting looms.
At 0700 AEDT on Tuesday, the local unit was trading at 70.97 US cents, up from 70.77 cents on Monday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat following falls on Wall Street after weak Chinese manufacturing data and oil prices resume their slide.
At 0645 AEDT on Tuesday, the share price futures index was down three points at 4,999.
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ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - US manufacturing activity contracted in January for a fourth straight month as factories grappled with a strong dollar and lower oil prices forced energy firms to further cut spending, but the pace of the decline appears to be slowing.
WASHINGTON - US consumer spending remained unchanged in December, but a jump in savings to a three-year high suggested consumption could rebound in the months ahead.
NEW YORK - Yahoo Inc Chief Executive Marissa Mayer is set to reveal cost-cutting plans that include slashing 15 per cent of its workforce, or roughly 1600 jobs, and closing several business units, the Wall Street Journal reports.
NEW YORK - Abbott Laboratories will buy Alere for $US4.8 billion ($A6.76 billion) as it tries to expand its medical-testing business.
LONDON - John Lewis, Britain's largest department store group, is to enter the Middle East market, opening an outlet in Dubai in 2017 as it steps up the pace of global expansion.
WASHINGTON - A top US Federal Reserve official says increased concerns about the global economic outlook led the central bank to leave a key interest rate unchanged last week.
