And the currencies.

 

The Aussie dollar is worth around 102 US cents and it'll buy you 68.5 British pence and 124 New Zealand dollars. And against the pence, it's reached 28-year high against the pound.

 

And the number of people with jobs in United States increased by 236,000 last month. Official figures also show the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 per cent. Private employers took on almost a quarter of a million new workers in February.

 

At home, the HLC has laid its decision on a prosposed merger of Virgin Australia with Tiger Airways Australia. The watchdog is now seeking more information from both Virgin and Tiger. It's repeatedly expressed concerns that Virgin's plan to buy 60 per cent of Tiger could reduce competition by cutting out a third major player in the domestic air travel market.