WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has surged above 73 US cents, after the Reserve Bank kept the cash rate unchanged and the release of very strong building approvals figures.
At 0630 AEDT on Wednesday, the local unit was trading at 73.30 US cents, up from 72.58 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat after strong gains on Wall Street with improving economic data from the eurozone offsetting disappointing China data.
At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was up one point at 5,265.
ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - US manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in three years in November under pressure from falling energy prices, the stronger dollar and slowing global growth, a survey shows.
BRUSSELS - Eurozone unemployment has slipped to its lowest level for nearly four years in October, official data shows, beating analyst expectations and confirming a slow recovery in Europe's job market.
BERLIN - Germany's unemployment rate fell to 6.3 per cent in November, the lowest level since reunification in 1990, reinforcing expectations that private consumption will continue to support growth in Europe's largest economy.
LUXEMBOURG - The eurozone's bailout fund has rescued Greece's largest bank, launching a recapitalisation process that is a crucial part of the country's third loan program in five years.
LONDON - The Bank of England has set out plans to require banks to hold as much as STG10 billion ($A20.81 billion) extra capital as the credit cycle moves into a more normal phase, but stopped short of immediate action.
VIENNA - OPEC oil output has risen in November from the previous month, a Reuters survey has found, led by a rebound in Iraqi exports after bad weather had temporarily halted supply growth from the group's second-largest producer.
NEW YORK - Morgan Stanley plans to cut hundreds of jobs in its debt and currencies division because of a drop in revenue, the Wall Street Journal reports.
CHICAGO - Volkswagen's US sales plunged 25 per cent in November after it suspended sales of diesel vehicles in the wake of an emissions cheating scandal, the embattled German carmaker says.
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