Finance news you need to know today

SWEDISH furniture giant Ikea is calling on customers who might be pregnant to wee on their new catalogue.

THE Australian share market looks set to open lower after a report saying that China may halt or slow its purchase of US Treasuries sent Wall Street falling. At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the share price futures index was down 18 points, or 0.30 per cent, at 6,028.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has rebounded, as the greenback has weakened on the China bond purchases report. The local currency was trading at 78.32 US cents at 0700 AEDT on Thursday, from 78.14 on Wednesday.

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

COPENHAGEN — Swedish furniture giant Ikea is calling on customers who might be pregnant to wee on their new catalogue. A pregnancy test has been set at the bottom of a page highlighting cribs for sale.

If the woman is expecting, according to a video on Ikea’s Twitter account on Wednesday, a discounted price appears. Bring the ad in, and the price of a crib drops by about 50 per cent. However, the ad and its discount — the work of the Stockholm-based Akestam Holst advertising agency — are available only in Sweden.

WASHINGTON — The Federal Reserve says payments it will make to the federal government based on its 2017 operations will drop to $US80.2 billion ($A112.3 billion), down 12.3 per cent from 2016.

NEW YORK CITY — Berkshire Hathaway’s Warren Buffett says he will never invest in cryptocurrencies.

BEIJING — French President Emmanuel Macron says China will order 184 Airbus A320 planes as he wrapped up his visit to Beijing, during which he called for “balance” in trade relations between the two countries.

WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

JOB VACANCIES — The number of job vacancies in Australia climbed to record levels in November and look like rising further in 2018, an economist says.

JOB TRENDS — Data security is tipped to be one of the hottest industries for employment growth during 2018 and into the future, a new survey of job prospects shows.

QBE — Insurance giant QBE has appointed Vivek Bhatia as chief executive of its Australian and New Zealand business.

MEDLAB — Shares in Medlab Clinical have soared 27 per cent after the company obtained a licence to sell and supply medical marijuana in Australia.

AUMAKE — AuMake’s market value has dropped 12 per cent after the retailer scrapped a $20 million capital raising, citing share price volatility.

YPB — Shares in brand protection company YPB Group have been suspended from trade ahead of an announcement from the company of a potential partnership deal.