WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar remains higher, boosted by a better-than-expected business survey which showed conditions at a near three-year high.
At 0630 AEDT on Wednesday, the Australian dollar was trading at 87.78 US cents, up from 87.76 cents on Tuesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open flat despite a positive lead from Wall Street which withstood a poor durable goods report and a disappointing outlook from Apple that pushed the Nasdaq into the red.
At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the March share price index futures contract was down two points at 5,131.
ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - US consumers gained confidence in the economy for the second straight month in January, with rising expectations for overall growth and earnings gains.
LONDON - Britain's economy expanded at the fastest rate last year since before the financial crisis but growth dipped in the final quarter of 2013, official data shows.
LONDON - Britain's Lloyds Banking Group is to axe more than 1,000 jobs and switch other work to new employers.
NEW YORK - Apple's stock has tumbled in early trading, hurt by a lacklustre first-quarter performance and a cautious second-quarter revenue outlook.
LONDON - Vodafone shareholders have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a bumper STG51 billion ($A97 billion) payout from the sale of the company's stake in US mobile phone operator Verizon Wireless.
STOCKHOLM - Swedish furniture giant Ikea has reported sharply slower profit growth for the 2012-2013 fiscal year compared to performance in previous years but did not reveal the cause of the slowdown.
DEARBORN, Michigan - Ford Motor Co has beaten Wall Street's forecasts for fourth-quarter and full-year profits thanks to record results in North America and Asia.
NEW YORK - US pharmaceutical giant Pfizer has reported a big drop in quarterly profits, but bested analyst expectations and pointed to several new drugs in development.
THE HAGUE - Electrical appliance and household goods group Philips switched back into profit in the whole of 2013 and in the last quarter, the company says.
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