Rolls-Royce, the maker of aircraft engines, says it plans to shed 2600 jobs, mainly at its aerospace division, over the next 18 months to cut costs. THE Australian dollar is slightly higher following a steady-as-she-goes statement from the Reserve Bank after its monthly board meeting. At 0630 AEDT on Wednesday, the local unit was trading at 87.36 US cents, up from 87.29 cents on Tuesday. And the Australian share market looks set to open slightly lower after mainly negative performance on Wall Street as oil prices slump. At 0645 AEST on Wednesday, the December share price index futures contract was down four points at 5,503. LONDON - Oil prices have plunged, with Brent hitting a four-year low after Saudi Arabia slashes its export prices for the US market to counter demand for shale fuels. KIEV - Kiev has paid the first tranche of its debt to Russia's Gazprom, fulfilling the terms of a gas deal in order to get Moscow to resume deliveries to the former Soviet state, Ukraine's energy company Naftogaz says. WASHINGTON - Orders to US factories declined in September, dragged down by falling demand in the volatile aircraft category. WASHINGTON - The US trade deficit rose in September, as a broader global economic slowdown caused exports to fall. BRUSSELS - The EU has cut sharply its growth forecasts for the eurozone, warning that France and Italy remain huge problems for the sluggish European economy. MADRID - Spain's jobless queue grew in October for the third month running as a hiring boom for the summer tourist season ended, official data showed. LONDON - Rolls-Royce, the maker of aircraft engines, says it plans to shed 2600 jobs, mainly at its aerospace division, over the next 18 months to cut costs. MADRID - Santander, the eurozone's biggest bank by market value, says its profits jumped by 52.1 per cent in the third quarter as a result of higher earnings in its main markets and lower costs. NEW YORK - Alibaba has reassured investors with a solid rise in profits as the Chinese e-commerce giant released its first earnings report since successfully completing the world's biggest stock offering in September. LONDON - Britain's Imperial Tobacco, the maker of Lambert & Butler and Gauloises cigarettes, says annual net profits surged 57 per cent, boosted partly by a major cost-cutting drive. TOKYO - Japan's SoftBank says net profit in the first six months of its fiscal year jumped by more than a third, thanks to a $US5.0 billion gain from its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba. LONDON - Richard Branson's Virgin Money bank has revived plans to list on the London stock exchange, one month after halting the move owing to market turbulence.