Finance news you need to know today

BIG changes are coming to the beer industry, with the merger of two of the world’s largest brewing companies about to be signed off.

SYDNEY — The Australian dollar has soared against the greenback after figures showed weaker-than-expected US economic growth. At 7am, the local unit was trading at 75.96 US cents, up sharply from 75.08 cents on Friday.

SYDNEY — The Australian market looks set to open higher after gains on Wall Street where the S&P 500 index hit a record intraday high for the seventh time in July. At 6.45am on Monday, the share price index was up 17 points at 5,536.

TRIPOLI — Libya’s state oil company has welcomed the “unconditional” reopening of blockaded oil ports following a controversial deal between the UN-backed government and a force that controls key eastern terminals.

SAO PAULO — Brazil’s former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and the former chief executive of investment bank Grupo BTG Pactual SA will stand trial for obstruction of justice, documents from a federal court in Brasilia show.

BUCHAREST — Anti-graft prosecutors have arrested Romania’s deputy central bank governor Bogdan Olteanu, saying they’re charging him with accepting $1.48 million (1 million euros) in 2008 to influence the government over a key appointment.

WASHINGTON — The US economy grew far less than expected in the second quarter as inventory investment fell for the first time in nearly five years, but a surge in consumer spending pointed to underlying strength.

WASHINGTON — The wages and benefits paid to US civilian workers rose at a steady pace in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year, as income growth showed signs of slight acceleration.

IRVING, Texas — Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM) has reported second-quarter profit of $2.27 billion ($US1.7 billion).

NEW YORK — US oil supermajor Chevron Corp has posted a net loss of $2 billion ($US1.5 billion), or $US0.78 per share, for the second quarter, compared with earnings of $US571 million for the same period in 2015.

LONDON — The board of British brewer SABMiller, which makes 150 different beers including Peroni, Bulmers, Castle Lager and Fosters, will recommend its shareholders approve a sweetened takeover offer by Belgian-Brazilian company Anheuser Busch InBev, the maker of beers including Budweiser and Beck’s. The deal comes after a week of high drama about the fate of the consumer industry’s biggest-ever merger.