WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has dropped back below 78 US cents after the European Central Bank said it would begin a 1.1 trillion euros ($A1.56 trillion) bond buying program next week.
At 0630 AEDT on Friday, the local currency was trading at 77.70 US cents, down from 78.16 cents on Thursday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat after a lacklustre finish on Thursday and a less-than-riveting performance on Wall Street where stocks lifted slightly.
At 0645 AEDT on Friday, the share price index futures contract was down two points at 5,888.
ELSEWHERE:
MOSCOW - Russian inflation reached 16.7 per cent in February as lower oil prices and Western sanctions over Ukraine caused the biggest jump in prices over one year since 2002, the state statistics service said Thursday.
NICOSIA - The European Central Bank has raised its forecasts for growth of the eurozone economy this year and next year, but cut its 2015 inflation forecast.
NICOSIA - The European Central Bank will start buying government debt in its new quantitative easing program on March 9, ECB chief Mario Draghi says.
NICOSIA - The European Central Bank has held its key interest rates steady, as expected, at its regular policy meeting, a spokesman says.
LONDON - The Bank of England has voted to keep its main interest rate at 0.50 per cent for a sixth year running, as Britain balances deflation fears against steady growth.
WASHINGTON - US factory orders fell for a sixth straight month in January despite strong orders in the crucial civilian aircraft sector, the Commerce Department reports.
WASHINGTON - New claims for US unemployment insurance rose modestly last week, sticking above the 300,000 level for the second week in a row, according to Labor Department data.
BERLIN - German industrial orders, a key measure of demand for goods in Europe's top economy, fell by nearly four per cent in January, far more than expected, data shows.
BERLIN - Adidas, the German maker of sportswear and equipment, says economic turbulence in Russia and difficulties in its golfing sector are partly behind a fall in net profit last year.
PARIS - International supermarket group Carrefour has recorded a solid rise in operating profit in 2014, but says net profit fell as it invested in improving the shopping centres that host its stores.
NEW YORK, March 5 AP - AbbVie says it is buying leukaemia drugmaker Pharmacyclics for $US21 billion ($A26.85 billion), its first major deal since pulling out of the Shire takeover for tax reasons.
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