Finance news you need to know today

MYER boss Richard Umbers has taken a $150,000 pay cut after the department store chain’s profit fell by 80 per cent.

THE Australian market looks set to open slightly higher, despite negative sentiment prevailing virtually across the board of major international bourses. At 0700 AEST on Friday, the share price futures index was up seven points, or 0.12 per cent, at 5,742.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has retraced some losses against a weakened US dollar to again touch 80 US cents. The local currency was trading at 80.05 US cents at 0700 AEST on Friday, from 79.96 on Thursday.

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

WASHINGTON, DC — The US House of Representatives has passed a $US1.2 trillion ($A1.5 trillion) bill to fund most government activities in the fiscal year beginning October 1, knowing the Senate will disagree with many controversial elements and force a negotiation that could stretch into December.

WASHINGTON, DC — US consumer prices accelerated in August amid a jump in the cost of petrol and rents, signs of firming inflation that could allow further monetary policy tightening from the Federal Reserve this year.

ABOARD AIR FORCE ONE — US president Donald Trump has yet to make up his mind about who should succeed Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen when her term expires in February, saying he has respect for the incumbent.

LONDON — US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is hopeful China will come to its own decision to decide to use the “powerful tool” of oil supplies to persuade North Korea to reconsider its “current path”.

LONDON — The Bank of England says it’s likely to raise interest rates in the coming months if the economy and price pressures keep growing, giving its clearest signal to date that Britain’s first rate hike in a decade is approaching.

LONDON — The Bank of England has opted to keep its main interest rate at the record low of 0.25 per cent even though inflation is running way above target.

GENEVA — The world must ditch austerity and economic neoliberalism and undertake a global “New Deal” to rebalance the global economy and achieve prosperity for all, the UN trade and development agency UNCTAD says.

LONDON — Australia may end up having its pick of post-Brexit trade deals after British Prime Minister Theresa May again confirmed her support for a UK- Australia deal.

KAMPALA — Uganda has signed an oil exploration deal with Australia’s Armour Energy Limited, the first under a protracted competitive licensing round launched in 2015.

LONDON — Britain should judge Rupert Murdoch’s bid for broadcaster Sky on the facts, not politics or it risks stifling inward investment after Brexit, James Murdoch says.

MENLO PARK — Google faces a new lawsuit accusing it of gender-based pay discrimination.

LUXEMBOURG — Ryanair has lost an EU court battle in which the airline had sought to continue imposing business-friendly Irish labour laws on cabin crew working elsewhere in Europe, in a case with implications across the low-cost airline sector.

VIENNA — Formula One manager Niki Lauda and British travel company Thomas Cook are offering around 100 million euros ($A149 million) to buy a quarter of the fleet from insolvent German carrier Air Berlin.

THURSDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

LABOUR FORCE — Australia’s economy has added more jobs than expected in August, underscoring an improvement in labour market conditions that has seen nearly a quarter of a million jobs added over the past six months.

MYER — Myer says it will close a further three stores as it struggles to turn around sluggish sales amid weak consumer spending and growing industry competition.

MYER UMBERS — Myer boss Richard Umbers has taken a $150,000 pay cut after his department store chain fell short by delivering an 80 per cent drop in full-year net profit.

RBA — The Reserve Bank of Australia will pay the federal government a dividend of $1.3 billion for 2016/17, a substantial reduction on the previous year after a rising Aussie dollar hurt the value of foreign asset holdings.

VOCUS — Shares in Vocus Goup have held steady despite a proposed class action alleging the telecommunications provider engaged in “misleading and deceptive conduct” and breached disclosure obligations.

SOUTH32 — Diversified global miner South32 has reiterated its support for a carbon pricing mechanism, adding its voice to the growing chorus from corporate Australia calling for clear government policy.

MACQUARIE ATLAS — Macquarie Atlas Roads aims to raise $450 million from investors to help fund the expansion of its stake in a French motorway network.