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Finance News Update, what you need to know

WORLD FINANCE UPDATE:

The Australian dollar has lost some momentum overnight, as the US dollar strengthened.

At 0630 AEDT on Wednesday, the local currency was trading at 87.06 US cents, down from 87.85 cents on Tuesday.

And the Australian share market looks set to open flat as Wall Street trades in positive territory.

At 0645 AEDT on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was down four points at 5,175.

ELSEWHERE:

BRUSSELS - Industrial output in the eurozone fell 1.8 per cent in August, official data shows, a steep drop and another sign that recession in the 18-nation currency bloc could return.

BERLIN - The German government has slashed its growth forecasts for this year and 2015 due to geopolitical crises and slower-than-expected global expansion.

LONDON - Britain has launched a yuan-denominated sovereign bond, the first of its kind by a Western nation outside China and the largest ever non-Chinese issue.

LONDON - UK authorities say inflation fell to its lowest point in five years, dropping to 1.2 per cent in September as shoppers benefited from a supermarket price war and lower petrol prices.

LONDON - Ireland has moved beyond the cycle of tax hikes and spending cuts with a new budget that also tightens the country's corporate tax rules.

BRUSSELS - The European Union has moved to ban Sri Lanka from selling its seafood to the massive EU market in a bid to stop illegal fishing by the second biggest exporter to the bloc.

PARIS - Global demand for oil is still weighed heavily by weak economic growth, and this together with a supply glut is pushing down prices which may fall further, the IEA says.

OSLO - The Swedish oil and gas company Lundin Petroleum has announced a "significant" oil discovery in the Barents Sea, which could be one of biggest finds in Norway in over a decade.

MOSCOW - Russian gas giant Gazprom says its year-on-year net profit in the first half of 2014 fell by 23 per cent, as a long-running gas dispute with Ukraine took its toll.

NEW YORK - Citigroup has reported higher third-quarter earnings on a big jump in revenues as it unveiled plans to exit consumer banking in 11 markets, including Japan.

NEW YORK - JPMorgan, the largest US banks by assets, has reported third-quarter profit after booking a loss in the same period a year ago.

NEW BRUNSWICK, New Jersey - Johnson & Johnson has reported third-quarter earnings of $US4.75 billion ($A5.14 billion).