WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has rallied on the back of a broad greenback selloff triggered by weaker-than-expected US economic data.
At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the local unit was trading at 71.80 US cents, up from 70.21 cents on Wednesday.
And the Australian market looks set to open higher following a positive lead in New York and an overnight rise in the price of oil.
At 0652 AEDT on Thursday, the share price index was up 22 points at 4,846.
ELSEWHERE:
LONDON - Lloyds Banking Group Plc says it will axe about 1585 jobs and close 29 branches as part of sweeping cuts it announced more than a year ago, aimed at reducing Europe's second-biggest lender's workforce by 9000.
LONDON - British-based pharmaceuticals giant GlaxoSmithKline has posted a loss of STG428 million ($A876 million) for the fourth quarter of 2015 - compared with a profit of over STG1 billion for the same period a year earlier - as the company integrates new businesses.
BRUSSELS - Luxembourg, the tiny European Union state nestled between France, Germany and Belgium, has a big new goal - it wants to be a centre for space mining.
DETROIT, Michigan - Strong earnings in North America and China and a reversal of fortunes in Europe powered General Motors to a record net profit of $US9.7 billion ($A13.77 billion) last year.
WASHINGTON - A private survey says US services companies grew in January at the slowest rate in nearly two years.
MOSCOW - Russia is ready to meet the main oil producers within the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) if a consensus on such a meeting is reached with them, Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, has reportedly said.
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