Finance news you need to know today

OXYCONTIN maker Purdue Pharma LP says it has cut its sales force in half and will stop promoting opioids to doctors.

THE Australian share market looks set to ignore Wall Street’s positivity and to open half a per cent lower. At 0700 AEDT on Monday, the share price futures index was down 28 points, or 0.49 per cent, at 5,724.

Meanwhile, the Australian dollar has regained some of its lost ground against the US dollar.

The local currency was trading at 78.12 US cents at 0700 AEDT on Monday, from 77.76 on Friday.

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

WASHINGTON, DC — President Donald Trump has signed the budget deal.

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber will pay $US245 million ($A343 million) worth of its own shares to Waymo to settle a legal dispute over trade secrets.

WASHINGTON, DC — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma LP says it has cut its sales force in half and will stop promoting opioids to doctors, following widespread criticism of the ways that drugmakers market addictive painkillers.

PARIS — Four tobacco companies operating in France manipulated tests to conceal the real level of nicotine and tar contained in cigarettes, endangering the lives of smokers, a French anti-smoking organisation alleged in a legal complaint.

ZURICH — The Swiss military might be neutral when it comes to wars, but not when it concerns its name being used on Swiss watches.

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS:

MYER — Myer shares have plummeted to a fresh all-time low after the department store chain warned it cannot see an end to the gloomy trading conditions that led to a steep drop in January sales and the need for more writedowns.

RBA SOMP — Low wage growth will persist in Australia for some time, the Reserve Bank has warned, with the situation worsened by new workplace agreements containing smaller pay rises coming into effect.

HOUSING FINANCE — The number of home loan approvals for owner occupiers has fallen 2.3 per cent, lagging market expectations for a decline of 1.0 per cent.

REA GROUP — Real estate giant REA Group says a slowdown in new housing developments will see the lower ad volumes experienced in its first half extend over coming months.

NEWS CORP — News Corp has cut its first-half loss to $US16 million ($A22 million), helped by a 32 per cent increase in earnings from its digital real estate businesses.

SKYCITY — Trans-Tasman casinos operator Skycity Entertainment Group expects its Darwin casino to improve its performance in the second half of the financial year, but the property’s future is still under review.