WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:
The Australian dollar has dipped to a fresh three-month low as falling commodity prices and the prospect of an interest rate cut in the new year keeping the currency under pressure.
At 0630 AEDT on Thursday, the local unit was trading at 90.70 US cents, down from 91.26 cents on Wednesday.
And the Australian share market looks set to open higher following Wall Street's rise after on the back of mixed economic data on the eve of the Thanksgiving holiday.
At 0704 AEDT on Thursday, the December share price index futures contract was up six points at 5,356.
ELSEWHERE:
NEW YORK - New orders for durable goods fell two per cent in the US in October due to a big drop in transportation orders, the Commerce Department has reported.
ATHENS - Greece will remain mired in recession in 2014 for a seventh straight year, and is likely to need more financial assistance, the OECD said on Wednesday, in contrast to forecasts by Athens.
PARIS - French investigators have raided the Paris headquarters of the local arm of Swiss bank UBS, which has been placed under investigation for allegedly helping rich clients hide money in undeclared accounts.
NEW YORK - The World Bank and United Nations have appealed for billions of dollars to provide electricity for the poorest nations but say there will be no investment in nuclear power.
DUBLIN - The Irish government has stopped the sale of its state gas company, saying that, however short of cash, it would not agree to a "bargain basement sale".
HARARE - Zimbabwe will press ahead with controversial plans to ban foreigners from owning bakeries, barber shops, estate agencies and a host of other businesses, officials say.
NEW YORK - A federal bankruptcy judge has approved the settlement in the US government's antitrust lawsuit against American Airlines and US Airways, clearing the airlines to complete their merger early next month.
ATHENS - Greece's top lender NBG has reported a 262-million-euro ($A391 million) group net profit for the first nine months of 2013, compared to 2.5-billion-euro losses in the same period last year.
PARIS - Philippe Varin, the chief executive of loss-making, state-subsidised carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen says he will give up his 21-million-euro ($A31 million) pension amid outrage from French unions and politicians.
STOCKHOLMP - Swedish fashion giant H&M is to stop making clothing containing angora hair after an animal rights group released video showing fur being plucked from live rabbits on Chinese farms.
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