Finance news you need to know today

COLLINS Foods is closing its fledgling Snag Stand business as it launches Taco Bell and focuses on its lucrative KFC restaurants.

THE Australian share market looks set to open lower as both the Nasdaq and the S&P head toward their biggest one-day losses in months. At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the share price futures index was down nine points, or 0.15 per cent, at 6,010.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has recouped some of its overnight losses but remains markedly lower against its US counterpart. The local currency was trading at 75.77 US cents at 0700 AEDT on Thursday, from 75.88 on Wednesday.

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

DALLAS — American Airlines is scrambling to find pilots to operate thousands of flights over the busy Christmas holiday period after a glitch in the system used to schedule crews.

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says the US economy has gained strength this year and that will keep the Fed on track to gradually increasing its key policy rate.

NEW DELHI — An Indian court has imposed a fine of 4.5 million rupees ($A98,000) on Nestle India in a 2015 case for selling substandard instant noodles after a laboratory test found high ash content in its popular Maggi brand.

LONDON — Bitcoin has zoomed past $US11,000 ($A15,400) to hit a record high for the sixth day in a row stoking concerns that a rapidly swelling bubble could be set to burst in spectacular fashion.

LONDON — Uber Technologies has informed Britain’s data protection regulator that about 2.7 million user accounts — representing the vast majority of people using the ride-hailing service in the country — were affected by a 2016 data breach.

LONDON — Three-fifths of Britons would be willing to buy a house with other members of their family and live in a multi-generational home, a survey has found.

WEDNESDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

COLLINS FOODS — Restaurant operator Collins Foods is closing its fledgling Snag Stand business as it launches Taco Bell and focuses on its lucrative KFC restaurants.

MURRAY GOULBURN — Murray Goulburn’s dairy processing facility in northwest Tasmania will reopen in 2018 under new foreign owners.

DOMINOS — A court case between Domino’s Pizza and Sydney IT company Precision Tracking has been adjourned until 2018 after the pizza chain added new claims related to an alleged breach of confidentiality.

SEEK — SEEK shares have slumped despite the job ads group upgrading its full-year earnings forecast, with the tipped 13 per cent rise seeming to fall short of investors’ expectations.

GOLD MINERS — Australian gold miners are likely to lift dividends and launch share buybacks over the next few years as they generate stronger cash flows, Citi analysts say.

YOUI — Youi will pay $164,000 after the corporate watchdog raised concerns the insurer had been charging people for policies they hadn’t agreed to buy.

ACCC HAIR — The consumer watchdog has been pulling its hair out over the alleged unfair business practices at a chain of Australian clinics offering baldness treatments.

SUPERANNUATION — Fewer Australians are relying on the age pension than 20 years ago, an indication that the national retirement scheme is successful, the peak superannuation body says.