WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is weaker as its US counterpart grinds higher on expectation that the US Federal Reserve will raise its interest rate in December.
At 0630 AEDT on on Wednesday, the Australian dollar was trading at 70.24 US cents, down from 70.52 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat following falls in European stocks and a mixed performance on Wall Street amid greater expectations of a US interest rate rise.
At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was up two points at 5,078.
ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - An early interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve would involve higher risks than waiting a bit longer, the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund has warned.
NEW DELHI - India's government has announced plans for a sweeping liberalisation of its foreign direct investment (FDI) regime, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to counter accusations his reform drive is stalling.
PARIS - French company Alstom says it has won a 3 billion euros ($A4.58 billion) contract under which it will open a factory in India to supply the nation's rail operator with 800 electric locomotives.
BERLIN - German airline Lufthansa has won a symbolic court victory in its bid to halt a week-long cabin staff strike, even as the trade union threatened to expand its industrial action.
PARIS - France's economy minister Emmanuel Macron says his country's economy is "lacklustre" and will probably remain so in 2016.
SAO PAULO - Negligence and human error likely caused two mining dams in southeastern Brazil to burst last week, unleashing a wave of mud that killed four people and left 22 others missing, the Minas Gerais state environmental prosecutor said Tuesday.
STOCKHOLM - Swedish telecom equipment giant Ericsson has cut its forecast for global market growth in the sector over the next few years.
