WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar is struggling to hold above 77 US cents amid growing expectations of a rate cut on Tuesday.
At 0630 AEDT on Monday, the local currency was trading at 77.39 US cents, down from 77.91 cents on Friday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open lower following falls on Wall Street after disappointing US economic growth report and worrisome data on eurozone inflation.
At 0645 AEDT on Monday, the March share price index futures contract was down 24 points at 5,518.
ELSEWHERE:
WASHINGTON - US President Barack Obama is proposing an ambitious six-year, $US478 billion ($A616.22 billion) public works program of highway, bridge and transit upgrades.
ATHENS - The European Union must halt "spasmodic" action against Russia, the new Greek foreign minister says, adding Greece could not be ignored in EU affairs simply because it owes money.
BEIJING - China's manufacturing activity contracted for the first time in more than two years in January.
ATHENS - Greece's new anti-austerity government has sacked the heads of its privatisation agency in what finance ministry officials call "a first step in the new privatisation policies" of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras.
BERLIN - German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected the prospect of debt relief for Athens, adding to tensions between the radical new Greek government and its international creditors.
MOSCOW - Russia's economy minister Alexei Ulyukayev has forecast GDP to fall by three per cent in 2015 on the back of a collapse in oil prices and massive capital flight.
ADDIS ABABA - African leaders have agreed in principle to impose a flurry of taxes in a bid to finance their pan-African bloc, set up to push the continent's diplomatic agenda but dependent on foreign handouts.
SAN FRANCISCO - IBM boss Virginia Rometty is to get a $US3.6 million ($A4.64 million) performance bonus, despite a decline in the company's sales and profits for 2014.
COLOMBO - Sri Lanka's new government has declared James Packer unwelcome in the country after the gaming mogul pulled out of building a luxury resort following a ban on new casinos.
MANAMA - Outspoken billionaire Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal has launched a pan-Arab satellite news channel aimed at challenging established networks in the region.
Share
