Finance news you need to know today

INDIA has unveiled a budget to help the poor with hikes in spending and tax cuts as the PM seeks to win back voters hit hard by the cash crackdown.

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

1. SYDNEY — The Australian dollar is higher against its US counterpart. The local currency was trading at 75.86 US cents at 0700 AEDT on Thursday, from 75.67 on Wednesday.

2. SYDNEY — Meanwhile, the Australian market looks set to open flat, following Wall Street’s lead with the Dow little changed despite stronger-than-expected private jobs and manufacturing data. At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the share price futures index was up just four points, or 0.07 per cent, at 5,603.

3. LONDON — British MPs have approved legislation seeking parliament’s approval for the start of formal divorce talks with the European Union, allowing it to progress to the next parliamentary stage.

4. LONDON — Britain expects to be able to adopt the European Union’s free trade agreements (FTA) with around 40 countries after it leaves the bloc rather than negotiate new deals, trade minister Liam Fox says.

5. MEXICO CITY — The Mexican government says it will open a 90-day consultation period with private business groups about possible changes to the North American Free Trade Agreement.

6. WASHINGTON — Volkswagen has agreed to pay at least $US1.26 billion ($A1.66 billion) to fix or buy back and compensate owners of about 80,000 polluting 3.0 litre diesel-engined vehicles and could be forced to pay more than $US4 billion if regulators don’t approve fixes for all vehicles, court documents showed.

7. NEW DELHI — India has unveiled a budget to help the poor with hikes in government spending and cuts in taxes as Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks to win back the sympathy of voters hit hard by his recent crackdown on “black money”.