Finance news you need to know today

BILL O’Reilly has blamed his sacking from Fox News on “completely unfounded claims” that have been levelled against him.

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

1. SYDNEY — The Australian market looks set to open lower after Wall Street mainly fell as investors digested the latest round of company earnings, and a drop in oil prices weighed on the energy sector. At 0700 AEST on Thursday, the share price futures index was down 13 points, or 0.22 per cent, at 5,784.

2. SYDNEY — Meanwhile, the Australian dollar is lower against its US counterpart which has recovered its losses from the previous session. The local currency was trading at 74.98 US cents at 0700 AEST on Thursday, from 75.17 on Wednesday.

3. WASHINGTON — International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde says the 70-year-old multilateral institution will keep evolving to meet the needs of its members, but adds none are opposed to free and fair trade.

4. BRUSSELS — The president of the European Commission believes that “real talks” between the European Union and Britain on Brexit will only start after British snap elections called for June 8, an EU spokesman says.

5. JOHANNESBURG — South Africa’s credit rating could get downgraded deeper into junk status if political uncertainty triggered by the recent firing of the finance minister stalls reforms needed to grow the economy, an executive from S&P Global Ratings says.

6. WASHINGTON — The US State Department has approved the sale of $US295.6 million ($A394.1 million) worth of military equipment to Iraq for artillery and infantry Kurdish Peshmerga units, a Pentagon agency says.

7. LOS ANGELES — Bill O’Reilly has blamed his sacking from Fox News on “completely unfounded claims” that have been levelled against him.

8. DUBAI — The Middle East’s biggest airline says it is reducing flights to the United States because of a drop in demand caused by tougher US security measures and attempts by the Trump administration to ban travellers from a number of Muslim-majority nations.