The Australian dollar has drifted higher after falling below 87 US cents last week. At 0630 AEDT on Tuesday, the Australian dollar was trading at 87.54 US cents, up from 87.05 cents on Friday. The share market looks set to open lower when trade resumes after the Australia Day long weekend. WASHINGTON - Sales of new US homes fell seven per cent in December, but were enough to sustain a full-year gain of 16.4 per cent compared with 2012. BERLIN - German business confidence rose sharply in December, data shows, with a surprisingly strong boost suggesting a sunny outlook for Europe's biggest economy. PARIS - Embattled French president Francois Hollande's pledge to "reverse the curve" of unemployment last year has come back to haunt him as figures show a further increase in the ranks of France's jobless. BRUSSELS - Top European officials have voiced impatience about stalled negotiations between Greece and its bailout creditors, saying the government in Athens must step up its efforts to meet agreed upon reform and privatisation targets. NEW YORK - US authorities have filed criminal charges against two operators of a Bitcoin exchange, which enabled its users to buy drugs and other illicit goods on the Silk Road underground website. LONDON - Britain's state-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland says it has set aside more than STG3.0 billion ($A5.7 billion) for litigation and compensation claims in the UK and in the US. PARIS - The number of registered jobless in France rose to a record 3.3 million in December, belying President Francois Hollande's pledge to reverse the trend by the end of last year. JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's rand has hit a fresh five-year low on as the currency came under sustained pressure amid a worldwide flight from emerging markets. ANKARA - Turkey has ramped up its defence of the lira, with the central bank announcing a crisis meeting after currency intervention failed to support the currency. STOCKHOLM - Swedish telecom equipment maker Ericsson says it has signed a deal with South Korean electronics giant Samsung settling a global patent dispute.