Finance news you need to know today

THE Bank of England is facing a legal battle for “dealing in blood money” over its decision to keep notes with traces of animal fat in circulation.

Bank of England Governor Mark Carney. Picture: Stefan Wermuth/AFP

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

1. SYDNEY — The Australian market looks set to open flat despite Wall Street’s gains after US inflation and retails data surprised on the upside. At 0700 AEDT on Thursday, the share price futures index was up two points, or 0.03 per cent, at 5,761.

2. SYDNEY — Meanwhile, the Australian dollar is sharply higher against the US dollar — and against the yen, euro, and the pound, but down against its New Zealand counterpart. The local currency was trading at 77.04 US cents at 0700 AEDT on Thursday, from 76.68 on Wednesday.

3. WASHINGTON — US President Donald Trump has called tax code revisions a critical way to boost the nation’s economy as he kicked off a White House meeting with chief executive officers of Target Corp, Best Buy Co Inc and six other major retailers.

4. LONDON — The Bank of England is facing a potential legal battle after being accused by activists of dealing in “blood money” over its decision to keep polymer notes with traces of animal fat in circulation.

5. BRUSSELS — Trade between the European Union and the United States fell last year for the first time since 2013, estimates of the EU statistics agency showed, in line with a general drop in global trade.

6. DUBLIN — Ireland’s Prime Minister Enda Kenny has warned European Union leaders that any talk of punishing Britain for leaving the bloc is deeply unwise and called for a transitional agreement to ease the damage likely to be caused by the split.

7. STRASBOURG — European Parliament MPs backed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) by 408-254, meaning large parts of the EU-Canada deal, notably tariff reduction, will finally enter into force some eight years after negotiations began.

8. FRANKFURT — German airline Lufthansa and its pilots have agreed to a settlement proposed in mediation, ending a long-running dispute over salaries.

9. LONDON — Yahoo is warning users of potentially malicious activity on their accounts between 2015 and 2016.