WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is hovering below 81 US cents, having regained some ground after Monday's heavy losses.
At 0630 AEDT on Tuesday, the local currency was trading at 80.97 US cents, up from 80.50 cents on Monday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open lower after falls of nearly two per cent on Wall Street and nearly three per cent on Germany's DAX.
At 0645 AEDT on Tuesday, the March share price index futures contract was down 92 points at 5,315.
ELSEWHERE:
NEW YORK - US oil prices have dropped below $US50 a barrel for the first time since 2009 on a rocky day in global financial markets.
FRANKFURT - Inflation in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, hit a five-year low in December, data shows, turning up the heat on the European Central Bank to do more to ward off the threat of deflation, analysts say.
LONDON - Britain's construction sector has posted its lowest level of growth for 17 months in December amid signs the surge in house building is starting to cool.
FRANKFURT - German carmaker BMW has agreed to offer 5.1 billion yuan ($A885 million) in subsidies to its Chinese dealers to help make up for losses from slowing sales, Bloomberg news agency reports.
OSLO - Four former top executives of Norwegian fertiliser giant Yara International have appeared before a court in Norway charged with "aggravated bribery" in Libya and India.
NEW YORK - US carmakers have reported strong domestic sales in December, capping solid annual growth for General Motors and the newly renamed Chrysler, but a flat year for Ford.
NEW YORK - A US hedge fund founder has been shot dead in his plush Manhattan apartment, police say.
NEW YORK - Morgan Stanley says an employee in its wealth management business stole data from about 900 clients and posted it on the internet.
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