WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has been weighed down by continued declines in commodity prices.
At 0700 AEDT on Monday, the currency was trading at 72.03 US cents, down from 72.44 cents on Friday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat after Wall Street closed lower in its last session, dragged down by plunging oil prices and investor nervousness ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.
At 0645 AEDT on Monday, the December share price index futures contract was up one point at 5,021.
ELSEWHERE:
BEIJING - China's activity data was stronger than expected in November, with factory output growth picking up to a five-month high, indicating that a flurry of stimulus measures from Beijing may have put a floor under a fragile economy.
BEIJING - China's central bank has signalled a change in the way it manages the yuan's value by potentially loosening its peg to the US dollar and instead measuring it against a basket of currencies.
WASHINGTON - A gauge of US consumer spending rose solidly in November as the holiday shopping season got off to a fairly brisk start, suggesting economic momentum for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates next week.
PARIS - Cuba has concluded a "historic accord" over debt that has not been paid to foreign creditors, including Australia, for the last 25 years.
NEW DELHI - Japan will provide $US12 billion ($A16.46 billion) of soft funding to build India's first bullet train, the two countries have announced, during a visit by Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, that also yielded deeper defence ties and a plan for civil nuclear cooperation.
HONG KONG - Fosun International has said its chairman, Guo Guangchang, one of China's best-known entrepreneus, is assisting authorities with an investigation, after earlier reports said the group lost contact with its billionaire founder.
MOSCOW - Russia has officially launched its own rating agency as it seeks to counterbalance the influence of Western agencies that have taken a pessimistic line on the country's crisis-hit economy.
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand has slumped to a record low as the country's economic prospects darkened over President Jacob Zuma's unexplained firing of the respected finance minister.
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