WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has enjoyed a short-lived rally overnight, clawing its way toward 79 US cents before drifting lower.
At 0630 AEDT on Friday, the local currency was trading at 78.15 US cents, down slightly from 78.18 cents on Thursday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat after a fluctuating night on Wall Street where a rebound in tech stocks offset a transport industry, including airlines, slump.
At 0645 AEDT on Friday, the June share price index futures contract was down two points at 5,883.
ELSEWHERE:
MADRID - Spain's central bank has raised its forecast for the country's economic growth in 2015 to 2.8 per cent, citing emergency liquidity measures, a weakening euro and lower oil prices.
SEOUL - South Korea has announced it is joining the Chinese-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), despite US opposition to the new multinational lender which Washington sees as a threat to the World Bank.
WASHINGTON - New claims for US unemployment insurance benefits fell last week, continuing to trend lower as the labour market improves, according to newly released official data.
BRUSSELS - European dairy farmers will be better poised to benefit from world demand for their products, particularly in Asia, when three-decade old milk quotas are lifted next week, the EU pointman on agriculture says.
SHANGHAI - Chinese energy firm PetroChina says its net profit slumped 17 per cent in 2014 from a year earlier as international crude oil prices plunged in the second half.
AHMEDABAD, India - US auto giant Ford Motors says it is doubling its production capacity in India as it opens a new $US1 billion ($A1.27 billion) plant in the business-friendly prime minister's home state of Gujarat.
MANILA - The Philippines' largest airline has reported a 67 per cent rise in profits last year, with strong growth in domestic passenger numbers and swift success on a new Australia route.
LONDON - Borse Dubai has sold its significant stake in the London Stock Exchange, sending the British group's share price plunging.
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