Finance news you need to know today

YAHOO Inc says information for at least 500 million user accounts was stolen from its network in what is being described as the biggest cyber breach ever.

HERE are seven things making news in business and finance around the world today.

1. SYDNEY: The Australian share market looks set to open higher as global stocks continue to rally after the Bank of Japan and the US Federal Reserve left interest rates on hold. At 6.55am on Friday, the share price index was up 28 points at 5,382.

2. SYDNEY: The Australian dollar has fallen against the greenback, but is set to test the 77 US cent level on the back of the US interest rate hold. At 7.02am on Friday, the local unit was trading at 76.43 US cents, down from 76.58 US cents on Thursday.

3. NEW YORK: Yahoo Inc says information for at least 500 million user accounts was stolen from its network in 2014 by what it believed was a state-sponsored actor, a theft that appeared to the biggest cyber breach ever.

4. WASHINGTON, DC: The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to a two-month low, pointing to labour market strength that could pave the way for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates by December.

5. LONDON: British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson said Britain expects to start the divorce procedure to leave the European Union early next year and may not need two years to negotiate a deal.

6. RIO DE JANEIRO: Guido Mantega, the former finance minister under Brazilian presidents Dilma Rousseff, was arrested Thursday in the corruption scandal at state-run oil giant Petrobras.

7. FRANKFURT: The president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, says there are too many banks in Europe and that is the reason behind low bank profits.