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US President Donald Trump speaks with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Mar-a-Lago estate in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 6, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JIM WATSON

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THE leaders of the world’s two biggest economies, Donald Trump and Xi Jinping, have landed in Florida for a face-to-face meeting.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on December 28, 2016 shows logos of US online social media and social networking service Facebook in Vertou, France. Facebook on April 5, 2017 unleashed a new weapon in the war against "revenge porn" at the leading social network as well as the messaging services Messenger and Instagram. When intimate images shared on Facebook without permission are reported, confirmed and removed, the company will use photo-matching technology to prevent copies from being shared on its platform anew. / AFP PHOTO / LOIC VENANCE

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FACEBOOK is adding tools to make it easier for users to report so-called “revenge porn” and to prevent the images from being reshared.

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British Prime Minister Theresa May (R) attends a meeting with Sarah al-Suhaimi, CEO of the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) at the exchange in the capital Riyadh on April 4, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / FAYEZ NURELDINE

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BRITISH PM Theresa May must prove “no deal is better than a bad deal” by offering an economic assessment on the impact of leaving the EU.

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Participants of a "Pulse of Europe" rally hold the European flag on April 2, 2017 in Hamburg, northern Germany. So-called Pulse of Europe rallies are taking place in many cities every Sunday in support of the European project, buffeted by Brexit and anti-EU parties in France, the Netherlands, Italy and Austria. / AFP PHOTO / dpa / Daniel Bockwoldt / Germany OUT

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UNEMPLOYMENT in the eurozone fell to a near eight-year low in February, adding to signs that the 19-member economy is gaining momentum.

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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 31: Traders work and financial professionals work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) ahead of the closing bell, March 31, 2017 in New York City. The Dow Jones industrial index notched its sixth-straight positive quarter, marking the best run for the Dow since 2006. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

Australian share market set to open higher

THE Australian market looks set to open slightly higher, bucking the lead from Wall Street where stock fell dragged down by Exxon and JPMorgan Chase.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on January 28, 2015 shows demonstrators holding signs against the proposed Keystone XL pipeline from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico in front of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 28, 2015. President Donald Trump on March 24, 2017 gave final approval to the US-Canada Keystone XL oil pipeline, saying it would create jobs and improve America's energy security. "It's a great day for American jobs and a historic moment for North America and energy independence," he said. / AFP PHOTO / NICHOLAS KAMM

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SIX environmental groups have filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration to challenge the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.

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THE Danish branch of the ride-sharing service Uber is shutting down its services in Denmark due to a proposed law that toughens standards for cabs.

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Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May (R) and Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon pose for a photograph ahead of their meeting in a hotle in Glasgow, on March 27, 2017. British Prime Minister Theresa May travelled to Scotland on Monday to try to avert its independence bid while also fighting a political crisis in Northern Ireland in the frantic final days before she launches Brexit. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / RUSSELL CHEYNE

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UK PRIME Minister Theresa May has told Scotland unity is crucial to Britain winning a good divorce deal from the European Union.

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ROME, ITALY - MARCH 25: Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel gestures as she leaves the courtyard of the Musei Capitolini ahead of a special summit of EU leaders to mark the 60th anniversary of the bloc's founding Treaty of Rome on March 25, 2017 in Rome, Italy. The 60th anniversary of the signing of the treaties creating the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community the first major structural steps toward creating the European Union. (Photo by Franco Origlia/Getty Images)

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GERMAN Chancellor Angela Merkel’s conservative party have scored a convincing victory over their centre-left rivals in a state poll.

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FILE - In this July 17, 2016, file photo, then-Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort talks to reporters on the floor of the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. U.S. Treasury Department agents have recently obtained information about offshore financial transactions involving Manafort, as part of a federal anti-corruption probe into his work in Eastern Europe, The Associated Press has learned. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)

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US AGENTS have obtained information about offshore transactions involving Donald Trump’s former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort.

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In this photo provided by the Iditarod Trail Committee, twenty-year-old rookie Iditarod musher Laura Neese, of Michigan, and her race team pull off of the sea ice trail outside of Nome, Alaska, and make their way on to Front Street, her first paved road in nearly 1,000 miles, to complete the final leg of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Friday, March 17, 2017. (Iditarod Trail Committee/Mike Kenney via AP)

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AN AUSTRALIAN couple with roots in Alaska has broken a longstanding barrier to full foreign ownership of US radio stations.

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(L-R) The EU, Turkish and Union Jack flags flutter in the wind ahead of the 60th anniversary of "The Treaty of Rome" near the EU institutions, in Brussels on March 21, 2017. The Treaty of Rome, officially the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (TEEC), is an international agreement that brought the creation of the European Economic Community (EEC), signed on March, 25, 1957 by Belgium, France, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and West Germany, leading to the creation of the EU. European Council President announced that the European Union's 27 leaders will meet on April 29, 2017 to agree their negotiating lines for Brexit talks after London sends in a formal notification that it wants to leave the EU. / AFP PHOTO / EMMANUEL DUNAND

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UK PM Theresa May says a letter launching formal divorce proceedings with the EU will set the tone for Britain’s relationship with the rest of the world.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on April 11, 2006 shows US David Rockefeller posing in a Paris bookshop during the presentation of his book "Memoires". David Rockefeller, a former head of Chase Manhattan bank and luminary in political and philanthropic circles, died on March 20, 2017 at the age of 101, a spokesman said. / AFP PHOTO / STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN

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BILLIONAIRE David Rockefeller, patriarch of one of the most famous and influential American families, died on Monday aged 101.

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US Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley smiles as she speaks to the media after taking part in the UN Security Council consultations on North Korea's recent missile launches on March 8, 2017 at United Nations headquarters in New York. / AFP PHOTO / EDUARDO MUNOZ ALVAREZ

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UNITED Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned against an abrupt cut to US funding for the world body.

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A woman uses a headset to take a 360 degree virtual tour of St Stephen's Hall, as she stands inside the hall, during a photocall to promote the launch of the online virtual tour of the Palace of Westminster, inside the Houses of Parliament in central London on March 15, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / BEN STANSALL

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THE UK’s unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest since the summer of 1975, with a record number of people in work.

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LONDON, ENGLAND - MARCH 14: (EDITORS NOTE: This image was created using a tilt shift lens) A traffic direction sign stands outside the Houses of Parliament on March 14, 2017 in London, England. Reports suggest that Article 50 could be triggered soon and begin the process that will take Britain out of the European Union after parliament has passed the Brexit bill last night. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

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BRITISH PM Theresa May will notify parliament later this month when she has triggered Article 50 to begin the formal Brexit process.

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TOPSHOT - A pedestrian shelters from the rain beneath a Union flag themed umbrella as they walk near the Big Ben clock face and the Elizabeth Tower at the Houses of Parliament in central London on June 25, 2016, following the pro-Brexit result of the UK's EU referendum vote. The result of Britain's June 23 referendum vote to leave the European Union (EU) has pitted parents against children, cities against rural areas, north against south and university graduates against those with fewer qualifications. London, Scotland and Northern Ireland voted to remain in the EU but Wales and large swathes of England, particularly former industrial hubs in the north with many disaffected workers, backed a Brexit. / AFP PHOTO / JUSTIN TALLIS

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NORTHERN Ireland says it wants a referendum on splitting from the UK, hours after Scotland demanded a new independence vote.

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Alphabet Inc.’s self-driving car project, Waymo, logged 635,868 miles on California roads between Dec. 1, 2015 and Nov. 30, 2016, according a recent report filed with the state’s Department of Motor Vehicles. PHOTO: ERIC RISBERG/ASSOCIATED PRESS

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ALPHABET’S self-driving car unit Waymo has added a new patent claim to its intellectual property lawsuit against Uber.

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NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 7: (EDITORS NOTE: Image contains profanity.) Activists rally against President Donald Trump's reported plans to loosen Wall Street Regulations and repeal the Dodd-Frank Act as they march toward Goldman Sachs headquarters in Lower Manhattan, February 7, 2017 in New York City. The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law by President Barack Obama in July 2010 in response to the financial crisis of 2007-2008. Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

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DONALD Trump has promised to strip away some Dodd-Frank financial regulations and ensure they can continue giving small businesses access to capital.

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A statue titled "Fearless Girl" faces the Wall Street bull, Wednesday, March 8, 2017, in New York. A big investment firm, State Street Global Advisors, put the statue there to highlight International Women's Day. The work by artist Kristen Visbal. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

‘Fearless Girl’ stares down Wall St bull

IT’S one of the world’s most iconic statues, but now Wall Street’s famous charging bull has company — and she’s not backing down.

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NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 6: Travelers arrive at the international terminal at John F. Kennedy International Airport, March 6, 2017 in New York City. President Donald Trump signed a new executive order on Monday that will ban travelers from six majority-Muslim nations from entering the United States for 90 days. Drew Angerer/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

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AMERICA’S work force will only grow over the next two decades if new immigrants arrive to replace retiring Baby Boomers, a report finds.

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Indian students pose with their faces painted to mark International Women's Day at a college in Chennai on March 7, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / ARUN SANKAR

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ONE in five people around the world believe men are more capable in the workplace and at school, according to a global survey.

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ONLINE ONLY FWNP8M A young woman plays on her an iPhone 6 with the new funktions of the App snapshat, Germany, city of Seesen, 05 April 2016. Photo: Frank May

Snapchat shares are getting hammered

BILLIONS of dollars have been wiped from Snap Inc’s shares as the shine wears off the tech company’s share market debut.

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TEN years after the Garuda crash that killed five Australians, an aviation expert warns Indonesia’s industry still needs to shape up.

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Traders follow the IPO for Snap Inc. at the New York Stock Exchange, Thursday, March 2, 2017. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Shares set to fall, dollar tumbles

THE Australian market looks set to open lower following Wall Street, which retraced from record highs amid renewed expectations of a rate rise.

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President Donald Trump points to the audience of Navy and shipyard personnel after speaking aboard nuclear aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., Thursday, March 2, 2017. The ship which is still under construction is due to be delivered to the Navy later this year. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)

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DONALD Trump says he wants to “project American power in distant lands”, making his case for a proposed $71 billion increase in defence spending.

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Trader Peter Tuchman wears a "Dow 21,000" hat as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, March 1, 2017. Stocks opened strongly higher on Wall Street, led by big gains in banks as investors expected interest rates to rise. The early jump Wednesday put the Dow Jones industrial average above 21,000 points for the first time. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trump blasts stocks to new record

THE Dow has blasted through the 21,000 mark for the first time after US President Donald Trump’s first speech to Congress lifted optimism.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on December 16, 2016 shows Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of US tranportation company Uber, Travis Kalanick at an event in New Delhi. Uber chief Travis Kalanick has apologized, acknowledging that "I must fundamentally change as a leader and grow up," after a video showed him verbally abusing a driver for the service. In a message to Uber employees late February 28, 2017, Kalanick cited the widely circulated video and said he "treated an Uber driver disrespectfully."The incident which circulated on social media was the latest hit for the image of the global ridesharing giant, which faces accusations of sexual harassment and a lawsuit contending it misappropriated Google's self-driving car technology. / AFP PHOTO / MONEY SHARMA

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UBER’S chief executive says he needs leadership help after a video has emerged of him arguing with a driver about fares.

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ESCAPE: MAR 5. Aviation cover story, Robyn Ironside. Acropolis Hill, Parthenon, Athens, Greece. Odeon Herodes Atticus. Picture: istock

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GREECE bailout talks resume, EU looks to “shore up unity” after Brexit, the US and China discuss a “mutually beneficial economic relationship”.

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President Donald Trump, flanked by Independence Blue Cross CEO Daniel J. Hilferty, left, and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina CEO Brad Wilson, speaks during a meeting with health insurance company executives in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Monday, Feb. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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DONALD Trump is seeking a “historic increase” in US military spending to be funded by cuts elsewhere in government.

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President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. Can this team pull together? A big meeting of conservative activists exposes the tenuous alliance between President Donald Trump, an unorthodox Republican, and the ideological movement that helped elect him. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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FEDERAL Reserve policymakers may raise interest rates again “fairly soon” should jobs and inflation data come in line with expectations.

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VERIZON Communications has agreed to buy the core internet business of Yahoo for $5.85 billion, about $456 million less than the original price.

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A man walks past a slogan on a wall in central Athens on February 20, 2017. Eurozone finance ministers will on February 20 seek the outline of a deal to unblock bailout cash for Greece before fraught elections across Europe endanger a quick fix. / AFP PHOTO / LOUISA GOULIAMAKI

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GREECE may need far less in bailout loans from international lenders because its finance are improving better than expected.

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FILE - In this Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013, file photo, Snapchat CEO Evan Spiegel poses for a photo in Los Angeles. Snap Inc. is listing the companyâ€™s valuation at up to $22 billion as it prepares for the tech industryâ€™s biggest initial public offering in years. The parent company of SnapChat said in a regulatory filing Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, that the IPO is likely to be priced between $14 and $16 per share. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

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SNAP Inc is listing the company’s valuation at up to $29 billion as it prepares for the tech industry’s biggest initial public offering in years.

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Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney poses with a new polymer five pound note, at Whitecross Street Market, to promote the launch of the new bank note, in London, on September 13, 2016. The Bank of England will initially issue 440 million of the new polymer £5 notes ($6.7, 5.9 euros) and the old note will cease to be legal tender in May 2017. "We expect polymer notes to last at least two-and-a-half times longer than the current generation of fivers and therefore reduce future costs of production," Carney said. / AFP PHOTO / POOL / STEFAN WERMUTH

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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.

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Thomas Donato, center, follows stock prices, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017, at the New York Stock Exchange. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

Australian share market to open higher

THE Australian market looks set to open higher following gains on Wall Street where indexes again hit record highs.

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US President Donald Trump and Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau shake hands during a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House on February 13, 2017 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN

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US PRESIDENT Donald Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have launched a joint effort to advance women in the workplace.

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FILE -- In this Friday, Jan. 20, 2017 file photo, Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner dance at the Freedom Ball, in Washington. Is Ivanka Trump really Jewish? Last year, Israelâ€™s religious authorities issued a ruling that raised doubts about her conversion to Judaism. But now that her father is president, they have changed their tune, raising eyebrows among advocates who have long pushed the countryâ€™s rabbinical establishment to be more tolerant toward converts. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci, File)

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NORDSTROM’S sales of first daughter Ivanka Trump’s line of clothing and shoes fell by nearly one-third in the past fiscal year.

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President Donald Trump speaks in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 9, 2017. For Trump the short walk between the Oval Office and the White House residence is so far a lonely existence. First lady Melania Trump and the coupleâ€™s 10-year-old son, Barron, are staying in New York at least until the end of the school year. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

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DONALD Trump says he’ll make a major tax announcement in a few weeks, and the US dollar surged after his remarks.

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Ivanka Trump listens at the beginning of a policy and strategy forum with executives in the State Dining Room of the White House February 3, 2017 in Washington, DC. / AFP PHOTO / Brendan Smialowski

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DONALD Trump has tweeted Nordstrom, which decided to stop selling Ivanka Trump’s clothing and accessory line, treated his daughter “so unfairly”.

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ALDI has overtaken the Co-operative to become Britain’s fifth largest grocer with market share of 6.2 per cent, new data shows.

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Combined speed and red light running camera designed by Redflex Trafic Systems. control /Traffic/control

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AUSTRALIAN red light camera company Redflex has agreed to pay $26 million to the City of Chicago to settle a bribery scandal.

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates - March 31, 2015: Emirates Airbus A380 first class private suite interior. Emirates is one of two flag carriers of the United Arab Emirates along with Etihad Airways and is based in Dubai.

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GULF-STATE subsidies are allowing Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways to drive down prices and crowd out competition, US airlines claim.

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Bangalore expat resident on uses for the old 500 rupee note. Photo by: Bryan Kidd

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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.

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 24: A traditional dragon statue marks the boundary of the City of London, in the financial district, also known as the Square Mile, on January 24, 2017 in London, England. Following the announcement by Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May that Britain will leave the single market, financial organisations such as UBS and Goldman Sachs have reported that they are seriously considering either cutting staff or moving them from London. (Photo by Leon Neal/Getty Images)

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BRITISH lawmakers say they will vote to authorise Brexit, signalling likely victory for the government on the vote it had fought in court to avoid.

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Property owned by Jamie McIntyre and rented out over AirBnB - 25B Baileys Road Tallai, QLD, 4213

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AIRBNB is offering free accommodation to refugees and others barred from entering the US due to Donald Trump’s immigration curbs.

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THE US technology industry, a major employer of foreign workers, has hit back at President Donald Trump’s sudden executive order on immigration.

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Donald Trump’s triumphant graph

IT TURNS out the experts were wrong, once again. Donald Trump has defied his critics, and this graph proves it.

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In a still image taken from video footage broadcast by the UK Parliamentary Recording Unit on January 25, 2017 British Prime Minister Theresa May (C) smiles during an exchange during the weekly Prime Minister's Questions session in the House of Commons in central London on January 25, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / PRU / - / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT " AFP PHOTO / PRU " - NO MARKETING NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - NO RESALE - NO DISTRIBUTION TO THIRD PARTIES - 24 HOURS USE - NO ARCHIVES

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SAYING “opposites attract,” Theresa May is calling on Donald Trump to build a stronger “special relationship” between Britain and the US.

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A television screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange headlines the Dow Jones industrial average, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. The DJIA is trading over 20,000 points for the first time, the latest milestone in a record-setting drive for the stock market. The market has been marching steadily higher since bottoming out in March 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

US stocks hit new record highs

THE stock market rally sparked by Donald Trump’s election victory has resumed, with the Dow Jones closing above 20,000 for the first time.

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Specialist Mario Picone adjusts his Dow 20,000 cap as he works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2017. The Dow Jones industrial average is trading over 20,000 points for the first time, the latest milestone in a record-setting drive for the stock market. The market has been marching steadily higher since bottoming out in March 2009 in the aftermath of the financial crisis. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

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THE Dow Jones is trading above 20,000 for the first time, as Wall Street resumes a rally that began in the wake of Donald Trump’s election victory.

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LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 24: Lead claimant Gina Miller speaks outside the Supreme Court in Parliament Square following a majority ruling against the government, on January 24, 2017 in London, England. Judges ruled by a majority of 8 to 3 that the government cannot trigger Article 50 without an act of Parliament. (Photo by Jonathan Brady - WPA Pool /Getty Images)

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THE British government will introduce legislation within days seeking parliament’s approval to trigger Britain’s divorce with the European Union.

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US President Donald Trump speaks at CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia, on January 21, 2017. "I am with you 1,000 percent," Trump said in a short address to CIA staff after his visit to the agency headquarters in Virginia. / AFP PHOTO / MANDEL NGAN

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WITH the inauguration of Donald Trump as US president, the “old world of the 20th century is over for good,” Germany’s foreign minister says.

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Energy Secretary-designate, former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, pauses while testifying on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 19, 2017, at his confirmation hearing before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

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DONALD Trump’s pick to run the US Energy Department says efforts to combat global warming should not cost American jobs.

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WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 12: Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen greets educators at the Federal Reserve Board Building January 12, 2017 in Washington, DC. Yellen spoke about ways educators can teach about the role of the Federal Reserve. Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images/AFP == FOR NEWSPAPERS, INTERNET, TELCOS & TELEVISION USE ONLY ==

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US FEDERAL Reserve Chair Janet Yellen says the economy has come a long way in recovering from the 2008 financial crisis.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on October 11, 2011 shows assembly line workers assemble Chevy Volt electric vehicles and Opel Amperas at the General Motors Detroit Hamtramck Assembly Plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. General Motors announced January 17, 2017 plans to invest about $1 billion in its US factories, following recent criticism of the company by President-elect Donald Trump. / AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / BILL PUGLIANO

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GENERAL Motors will invest an additional $1 billion in its US factories and will move some production from Mexico to the US.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on April 15, 2016 shows the LEAP-1A engine, developed by CFM, a joint venture between France's Safran and General Electric, is pictured during its handover ceremony in Colomiers, outside Toulouse. The LEAP-1A is to be used in the Airbus A320neo jetliner, and Safran engines chief Olivier Andries said output was on target and that CFM would produce 100 LEAP engines this year and 500 next year. The engine would be introduced with six airlines this year. / AFP PHOTO / REMY GABALDA

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AEROSPACE giant Airbus plans to test a prototype for a self-piloted flying car as a way of avoiding gridlock on city roads by the end of the year.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on March 13, 2014 shows Martin Winterkorn, then CEO of German carmaker Volkswagen (VW), attending the company's annual press conference in Berlin. Volkswagen's former boss Martin Winterkorn is under investigation for having allegedly manipulated the market by holding back information about emissions cheating at the automobile giant, German prosecutors said June 20, 2016. / AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE

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FORMER Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn knew about the company’s emissions scandal two months earlier than previously stated.

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THE US has accused Fiat Chrysler of failing to disclose software in some of its diesel cars that allows them to emit more pollution than allowed.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on January 9, 2017 shows the new Volkswagen Atlas SUV displayed during the 2017 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan. Volkswagen AG will plead guilty to three criminal charges and pay a total $4.3 billion in fines to settle the emissions cheating scandal known as "dieselgate," the US Justice Department announced on January 11, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB

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VOLKSWAGEN has agreed to a $5.8 billion settlement to resolve the US government’s investigations into emissions cheating.

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Bjorn Bergmann Sigurdarson (R) of Iceland fights for the ball with Fan Xiaodong and Yang Shanping (L) of China during 2017 Gree China Cup International Football Championship group match at Guangxi Sports Center Stadium in Nanning, south China's Guangxi province on January 10, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / STR / CHINA OUT

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ICELAND’S citizens could soon go the opposite way of the UK, with the country mulling a referendum on joining the European Union.

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Handout picture released by the Venezuelan presidency showing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro during a television programme in Caracas on January 8, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Presidencia de Venezuela / HO / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE - MANDATORY CREDIT AFP PHOTO / PRESIDENCIA VENEZUELA - NO MARKETING - NO ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS - DISTRIBUTED AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

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RECESSION-HIT Venezuela’s imports plunged by more than half in 2016 as the nation prioritised debt payments despite chronic product shortages.

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Wall Street celebrates end to wild year

AMERICA’S stockmarket has closed its most dramatic year since the financial crisis, rocked by seismic shifts in global politics.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on November 3, 2015 shows Chairman of Icahn Enterprises Carl Icahn participating in a panel discussion at the New York Times 2015 DealBook Conference at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. President-elect Donald Trump said December 21, 2016 he is naming billionaire Carl Icahn, a vocal critic of government overregulation, to serve as a special advisor to overhaul "strangling regulations." The 80-year-old Icahn, who is known as aggressive, activist investor in the companies he is involved with, will not be a government employee, will not receive a salary and will not be bound by ethics rules requiring him to divest his investments. / AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Neilson Barnard

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BILLIONAIRE investor and Trump adviser Carl Icahn has targeted environmental and banking regulations as big drags on investment.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on November 15, 2009 shows a plaque for investment banking giant Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong. US regulators fined Goldman Sachs $120 million December 21, 2016 for attempting to manipulate a widely-used global interest rate benchmark to benefit its trading positions. Goldman Sachs traders between 2007 and 2012 deliberately timed and priced trades to influence the published price of the benchmark interest rate, the US Commodities Futures Trading Commission said in a statement. / AFP PHOTO / RICHARD A. BROOKS

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GOLDMAN Sachs has been ordered to pay $120 million to settle charges that it manipulated a global benchmark for interest-rate swaps.

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VOLKSWAGEN has reached a deal for owners of the remaining 80,000 diesel vehicles caught in the company’s emissions cheating scandal.

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(FILES) This file photo taken on December 12, 2016 in the courtroom at the Paris courthouse shows IMF chief Christine Lagarde prior to the start of her trial before the Court of Justice of the Republic, a special tribunal used to try ministers. IMF chief Christine Lagarde goes on trial in France since December 12 over a massive state payout to a flamboyant tycoon when she was finance minister in a case that risks tarnishing her stellar career. / AFP PHOTO / Martin BUREAU

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FRENCH judges convicted IMF chief Christine Lagarde of negligence for a state payout made while she served as France’s finance minister in 2008.

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Nicole Kidman stars in a five-minute virtual reality film in which she takes the viewer into the luxurious world of Etihad Airways' the Residence, on its A380 aircraft.

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ABU Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, citing “an increasingly competitive landscape,” says it is making an unspecified number of lay-offs.

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FILE - This Monday, July 25, 2016, file photo shows the Yahoo and Verizon logos on a laptop, in North Andover, Mass. Yahoo shares are sliding on worries that Verizon will walk away or cut the price on its $4.8 billion deal for the internet companyâ€™s digital operations. On Wednesday, Dec. 14, 2016, Yahoo revealed a massive hack of more than 1 billion user accounts after announcing a separate breach of 500 million accounts in September. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

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YAHOO shares fell more than five per cent on Thursday after the technology company disclosed a second massive data breach.

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Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen speaks during a press conference following the announcement that the Fed will raise interest rates, in Washington, DC, December 14, 2016. The US Federal Reserve on Wednesday raised the benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point as expected, citing an improving economy, after its first policy meeting since President-elect Donald Trump's election victory. / AFP PHOTO / SAUL LOEB

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THE Federal Reserve is raising a key interest rate for the first time in a year, reflecting a resilient US economy and expectations of higher inflation.

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F6RX2G Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant propaganda photo showing masked militants holding the ISIS black banner of Muhammad.

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THE US government says it is sanctioning two Middle Eastern exchange houses and an individual accused of helping to funnel cash to the Islamic State group.

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FILE - In this July 7, 2006, file photo, the Lockheed Martin F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is shown after it was unveiled in a ceremony in Fort Worth, Texas. Shares of Lockheed Martin fell Monday, Dec. 12, 2016, as President-elect Donald Trump tweeted that making F-35 fighter planes is too costly and that he will cut "billions" in costs for military purchases. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

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DONALD Trump has criticised Lockheed Martin’s F-35 fighter jet program as too expensive, his latest attack on large defence contractors.

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DOCTORS and health professionals have called on London Mayor Sadiq Khan to ban all diesel cars from the UK capital.

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A LEADER of Italy’s populist 5-Star Movement is pressing for a vote on whether the country should keep the euro as its official currency.

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#snapbrisbane prp IKEA North Lakes is now open! Photo by @richardharrieso

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IKEA’S full-year net profit rose 19.6 per cent to $6 billion, the group says, citing growth in both mature and emerging markets.

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Kate Gallager, a cereal developer at General Mills, puts naturally colored pancake batter onto a griddle to see how it reacts to heat. PHOTO: ACKERMAN + GRUBER FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

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GENERAL Mills, which has been struggling with weaker sales for its cereal and yoghurt, plans to cut between 400 and 600 jobs around the world.

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Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks while submitting his next year's budget bill in an open session of parliament in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016. Iran's official IRNA news agency reported that President Hassan Rouhani submitted a $83 billion budget bill to parliament for the next fiscal year, beginning in March. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

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IRAN has proposed a state budget of $134 billion, loosening the purse strings as Donald Trump threatens to put renewed pressure on Tehran.

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FRENCH President Francois Hollande says he will not seek a second term in office in the presidential election in 2017, an unprecedented move.

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THE Pittsburgh-area McDonald’s franchisee who created the Big Mac nearly 50 years ago has died at the age of 98.

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Saudi Arabia’s energy minister Khalid al-Falih (bottom right) attends a meeting of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC, at the OPEC headquarters in Vienna, Austria on November 30, 2016. OPEC sought to defy expectations and finalise a deal reducing its oil output for the first time in eight years, in an effort to boost painfully low crude prices. / AFP PHOTO / JOE KLAMAR

OPEC reaches deal to cut oil production

FOR the first time in eight years, cartel representatives have agreed to cut oil output by 1.2 million barrels a day.

Original URL: https://www.news.com.au/finance/markets/world-markets/page/32