WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has hit a fresh five-month high following a weaker-than-expected employment report from the United States.
At 0630 AEDT on Wednesday, the local unit was trading at 97.08 US cents, up from 96.55 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open higher following gains on international markets as investors interpret US jobs figures as meaning the Federal Reserve will continue its stimulus measures.
At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was up 37 points at 5,393.
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WASHINGTON - US businesses hired at a tepid pace in September as the Washington battle over the budget and debt ceiling headed toward a government shutdown, Labor Department data shows.
WASHINGTON - The US economy added just 148,000 jobs in September, suggesting that employers held back on hiring before a 16-day partial government shutdown began October 1.
BERLIN - Germany expects growth of 1.7 per cent for 2014 for Europe's biggest economy, slightly higher than the 1.6 per cent it had predicted in April, economy ministry sources say.
HAVANA - Cuba has announced it is ending an unpopular 19-year-old dual currency system that has contributed to a growing wealth gap between Cubans with access to dollars and those without.
BEIJING - Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev says Moscow has signed an $US85 billion ($A88.24 billion) deal to supply oil to China.
DOVER, Delaware - The DuPont Co said strong demand for agricultural products in Latin America had offset weak pricing for a key industrial pigment in contributing to an increase in third-quarter earnings.
MILWAUKEE - Harley-Davidson's third-quarter earnings has risen 21 per cent as motorcycle sales increase in the US and abroad.
MINNEAPOLIS - Delta Air Lines has made more than a billion US dollars in the third quarter as more passengers paid a little bit extra to fly.
BERLIN - Germany's biggest airline Lufthansa expects a sharp rise in operating profit this year despite falling earnings in the first three quarters amid restructuring.
