WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is stronger against the greenback, which sagged after the US central bank signalled eventual rate rises would be very gradual.
At 0630 AEDT on Friday, the currency was trading at 71.95 US cents, up from 71.69 cents on Thursday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat following a lacklustre performance on Wall Street as investors digest the Federal Reserve's minutes of its last meeting.
At 0645 AEDT on Friday, the December share price index futures contract was down four points at 5,252.
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BERLIN - The ECB's governing council is split over whether to cut interest rates again, according to minutes from their last meeting in Malta, with the issue surfacing as a potential tool to boost inflation.
WASHINGTON - Applications for layoff benefits by US workers remained at a low level last week, a sign that the jobs market continues to tighten.
RIO DE JANEIRO - The owner of a mining waste reservoir that burst in Brazil last month in a huge and deadly environmental disaster has been fined an additional $US30 million ($A42.31 million), the company says.
LONDON - British financial regulators will look into barring up to ten executives linked to the 2008 collapse of the country's biggest mortgage lender, HBOS, some of whom still hold senior business roles.
FRANKFURT - German cooperative lenders DZ Bank and WGZ Bank say they plan a merger next year that will create the country's third biggest financial institution.
CAIRO - Moscow and Cairo have signed an agreement for Russia to build a nuclear power plant in Egypt, with Russia extending a loan to Egypt to cover the cost of construction.
MONTREAL - Quebec has made a second cash injection in a month into manufacturer Bombardier, which gave up a stake in its rail unit for the funding to get its fledgling CSeries jetliner program off the ground.
