Finance news you need to know today

EMPLOYERS can legally pay women less than men for the same work, a US court has ruled.

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

1. SYDNEY — The Australian market looks set to open flat, following the lead of Wall Street’s Dow Jones and S&P500. At 0700 AEST on Friday, the share price futures index was down four points, or 0.07 per cent, at 5,905.

2. SYDNEY — The Australian dollar is again lower against its US counterpart, coming under pressure with the Trump administration’s latest attacks on imports, notably aluminium. The local currency was trading at 74.66 US cents at 0700 AEST on Friday, from 74.84 on Thursday.

3. SAN FRANCISCO — Employers can legally pay women less than men for the same work based on differences in the workers’ previous salaries, a US court has ruled.

4. OTTAWA — President Donald Trump decided against terminating the NAFTA treaty after the leaders of Mexico and Canada called him and asked him to work on a new trade between the three countries.

5. LONDON — German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s comments about Britain having illusions over its future relationship with the European Union show how tough the upcoming Brexit negotiations will be, Prime Minister Theresa May is set to say in a speech.

6. LUXEMBOURG — European Union negotiators displayed unity as they met to discuss guidelines for divorce negotiations with Britain, seeking to forestall differences that could emerge at a later stage.

7. NEW YORK — Microsoft has reported a 27.8 per cent increase in quarterly profit, lifted by robust demand for its cloud computing services.

8. NEW YORK — Google parent Alphabet has reported a 22.2 per cent rise in quarterly revenue, driven by a surge in advertising on mobiles and its popular YouTube video service.