WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has retraced some ground after falling to a three-month low following the release of Federal Reserve minutes that signalled a June US rate hike is "live."
At 0700 AEST on Thursday, the local unit was trading at 72.30 US cents, down from 72.63 cents on Wednesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open little changed after Wall Street closed flat following a volatile session as the minutes from the Federal Reserve's April meeting signalled a possible near-term interest rate rise.
At 0645 AEST on Thursday, the share price index was down three points at 5,356.
ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - The Federal Reserve will likely raise interest rates in June if economic data points to stronger second-quarter growth as well as firming inflation and employment.
OSLO - A Norwegian group of climate scientists is forming an alliance with investors, including BlackRock Inc and the World Bank, in a bid to assess the financial risks of rising global temperatures.
NEW YORK - Target's profit in the first quarter easily beat Wall Street expectations, but slowing sales are spooking investors.
TOKYO - Mitsubishi Motors president Testuro Aikawa is stepping down to take responsibility for the fuel efficiency cheating scandal unfolding at the Japanese carmaker.
HELSINKI - The Nokia name will return to the mobile phone market after a company backed by one of its former executives teamed up with manufacturer Foxconn to buy the rights to the brand for mobile devices.
MOUNTAIN VIEW, California - Alphabet's Google Inc has unveiled its answer to Amazon's Alexa virtual assistant along with new messaging and virtual reality products at its annual developer conference on Wednesday, doubling down on artificial intelligence and machine learning as the keys to its future.
GENEVA - The Oppenheimer Blue, the largest and finest fancy vivid blue diamond ever offered at auction, sold for a world record 56.837 million Swiss francs ($A78.59 million) after dramatic see-saw bidding, Christie's says.
