WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
Investors are selling off the Australian dollar in the belief that the Reserve Bank has entered an easing cycle.
At 0700 AEST on Thursday, the currency was trading at 74.57 US cents, down from 75.12 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open lower after Wall Street fell, weighed down by tepid data on private sector US jobs and a retreat in biotech shares.
At 0645 AEST on Thursday, the share price index was down 17 points at 5,233.
ELSEWHERE:
NEW YORK - US private employers added 156,000 jobs in April, well below economists' expectations and the weakest gain in three years, a report by a payrolls processor shows.
WASHINGTON - US productivity fell again in the first three months of the year, while labour costs rose at the fastest pace in more than a year.
WASHINGTON - The US trade deficit fell more than expected in March as imports of goods tumbled to their lowest level since 2010, a potential boost to first-quarter economic growth estimates that also hints at sluggish domestic demand.
LONDON/BENGALURU - The New York Stock Exchange's owner has shelved plans to gatecrash a merger between London Stock Exchange Group Plc and its German counterpart, saying it no longer intended to stage a rival bid for the British bourse.
LONDON - Shares in miner BHP Billiton Ltd have tumbled after Brazil's Federal Public Prosecution said it had launched a $US43 billion ($A57.4 billion) civil suit for a dam break that killed 19 people and caused the worst environmental disaster in the country's history.
FRANKFURT - The European Central Bank will stop issuing 500 euro banknotes towards the end of 2018 on concerns it could facilitate illicit activities but outstanding bills will remain in use indefinitely.
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