Finance news you need to know today

AUSTRALIAN diplomats have visited two citizens detained in Shanghai as part of a Chinese police probe into Crown Resorts.

HERE are 10 things making news in business and finance today.

1. SYDNEY — The Australian dollar has remained steady against the US dollar, is up against the euro but has fallen against the yen. At 0635 AEDT on Wednesday, the local unit was trading at 76.66 US cents, unchanged from Tuesday.

2. SYDNEY — The Australian market looks set to open higher after Wall Street gained thanks to a host of solid earnings reports that put corporate profits on track to snap a four-quarter streak of declines. At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the share price index was up 11 points at 5,402.

3. WASHINGTON — US consumer prices rose in September as the cost of gasoline and rents surged, suggesting a steady build-up of inflation pressures that could keep the Federal Reserve on track to raise interest rates in December.

4. LONDON — British inflation has spiked to a near two-year high of 1 per cent in the year to September from 0.6 per cent in August.

5. BEIJING — Australian diplomats have visited two citizens detained in Shanghai as part of a Chinese police probe into Crown Resorts Ltd., Australia’s largest casino operator.

6. NEW YORK — Goldman Sachs Group has reported much bigger profits than Wall Street was expecting, helped by a substantial rebound in bond trading.

7. NEW BRUNSWICK — Johnson & Johnson has reported third-quarter earnings of $US4.27 billion ($A5.56 billion).

8. MILWAUKEE — Harley-Davidson Inc. has reported third-quarter profit of $US114.1 million ($A148.6 million).

9. PARIS — Train operator Eurostar wants to cut 80 jobs this year as it struggles with weak traffic on the service that links Britain with continental Europe after a string of deadly attacks in Paris and Brussels.

10. LONDON — Channel Tunnel train services have been stopped after a power outage, spokesmen for both Eurotunnel and Eurostar say.