Finance news you need to know today

THE Weinstein Company board has voted to fire its president for failing to protect employees from disgraced Harvey Weinstein.

THE Australian share market looks set to open slightly lower after the Dow and the S & P lose early gains to close little changed, but the Aussie dollar slides against its US counterpart.

At 0700 AEDT on Monday, the share price futures index was down seven points, or 12 per cent, at 5,850.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has slipped more than half a US cent with the US dollar index reversing its early losses and gaining 0.6 per cent on the day.

The local currency was trading at 79.11 US cents at 0700 AEDT on Monday, from 79.72 on Friday.

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

WASHINGTON — The US Commerce Department has recommended that President Donald Trump impose steep curbs on steel and aluminium imports from China and other countries, ranging from global and country-specific tariffs to broad import quotas, according to proposals released on Friday.

BRUSSELS — A Belgian court is threatening Facebook with a fine of up to 100 million euros ($A175 million) if it continues to break privacy laws by tracking people on third party websites.

LONDON — Consumer goods giant Unilever has laid bare its entire palm oil supply chain, including all the suppliers and mills it sources from, to boost transparency in a rare industry move.

ATLANTA — Coca-Cola has swung to a fourth-quarter loss after being hit with a $US3.6 billion ($A5 billion) tax charge tied to a sweeping overhaul of the nation’s tax laws.

LOS ANGELES — The board of the Weinstein Company has voted to fire Chief Operating Officer David Glasser, saying he failed to protect employees from Harvey Weinstein’s pattern of sexual harassment.

LOS ANGELES — Australia’s Transmission Films is to be the exclusive theatrical distributor of Amazon Studios’ movies in Australia and New Zealand.

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

RBA — Reserve Bank boss Philip Lowe says a sustained cooling in major housing markets would be a welcome development now that overheated property prices have started to ease.

STAR ENTERTAINMENT — The Star Entertainment Group wasn’t so lucky in the first half of the financial year as the casino operator’s win rate against highrolling VIP gamblers took a beating.

MEDIBANK — Medibank Private’s turnaround strategy is beginning to pay off with the rate of customer declines slowing and company costs narrowing.

VILLAGE ROADSHOW — Ticket sales at Village Roadshow theme parks are showing signs of recovery, although the company’s chief executive says the fatal accident at rival Dreamworld is weighing on mums’ minds.

ISELECT — Online comparison website iSelect’s half-year profit has slumped 81 per cent, weighed down by impairment costs on its Nest Connected Home business.

BABY BUNTING — Aggressive discounting in the baby goods sector, particularly for car seats, baby carriers and toys, have contributed to a significant fall in Baby Bunting’s first-half profit.

-AAP