AM Finance Update - what you need to know The Australian dollar is higher against a weaker US dollar as the US heads towards a government shutdown because of the failure to pass budget legislation on time. At 0630 AEST on Tuesday, the local unit was trading at 93.27 US cents, up from 93.08 cents on Monday. And the Australian market looks set to open slightly higher despite falls on Wall Street as a partial US government shutdown loomed due to Washington political gridlock over a new budget. At 0650 AEST on Tuesday, the September share price index futures contract was up seven points at 5,230. WASHINGTON - The Democratic-led Senate has rejected conditions that House Republicans attached to a temporary spending bill. BRUSSELS - Top European Union and United States officials leading talks to clinch the world's largest trade deal hope to have proposals ready by January to end deep differences over rules and regulations. MUMBAI - India's current account deficit widened in the April-June quarter as imports rose and exports fell, data shows, spelling more bad news for the country's ailing currency. MADRID - Spain's public debt will reach 99.8 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) at the end of 2014, totalling some 1.05 trillion euros ($A1.53 trillion), Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro says. PRETORIA - South Africa's trade gap with the rest of the world widened by one third in August as exports decreased by 7.6 per cent amid ongoing strikes, according to official data. SAO PAULO - Brazil's Central Bank has trimmed its 2013 GDP growth forecast for Latin America's leading economy from 2.7 to 2.5 per cent. ROME - Italy's Silvio Berlusconi has sought backing from his party for a contested bid to bring down the government, as political instability hit the recession-hit economy on the financial markets. FORT WORTH, Texas - American Airlines says it will hire 1500 pilots over the next five years. SINGAPORE - US internet giant Yahoo has settled a two-year lawsuit filed by Asian media group Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) over the reproduction of its news content without permission, both firms say. SEVILLE, Spain - After years of delays and huge cost overruns, Airbus has delivered its first A400M military transport plane, handing over the huge turboprop to France. LONDON - Former Xstrata boss Mick Davis has raised $US1.0 billion ($A1.08 billion) from trading house Noble and private equity firm TPG for new mining firm X2 Resources.