Yahoo Finance morning wrap for Thursday

Image: Getty

Good morning.

Here’s everything you need to know in Australia and beyond to kick off your Thursday:

Stocks: The ASX is expected to open higher after the US central bank cut interest rates by 25 basis points. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.13 per cent, while the S&P 500 was up 0.03 per cent and the Nasdaq Composite fell 0.11 per cent.

Currently, the Aussie dollar is buying 68.29 US cents, down from 68.44 US cents on Wednesday.

Fed cuts rates: US Federal Reserve chairman Jerome Powell said the Fed was prepared to be “aggressive” if needed, after pulling the rate trigger. Chief market strategist at JonesTrading Mike O’Rourke said it was clear the Fed was ready to act.

“[Powell] did a very good job conveying the view that this was a mid-cycle adjustment, but that obviously the Fed is ready to act if it needs to do more," he said.

Budget: The Labor party has said any surplus will be fuelled by cost cutting to the National Disability Insurance Scheme. The government is due to release its final budget outcome tonight. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has predicted an improvement on the touted $4.2 billion deficit.

But, Shadow treasurer Jim Chalmers said the improvement will come out of the NDIS.

"The government now have no excuse not to come up with a plan to turn around an economy that is floundering on their watch," Chalmers said.

"Improvement in the budget will be built on underspends in the NDIS which short-change Australians with a disability by not providing the funding they need and deserve and were promised."

$100k: Struggling to save? You’re not alone. But, Yahoo Finance spoke to the experts on how to build your savings to $100,000 in just three years: warning, it might not be easy.

CEOs with HSCs: Tertiary education isn’t the be all and end all when it comes to making a CEO, new research has revealed, with several of Australia’s top CEOs only completing high school. Here’s who they are.

Date night: And, Australian men spend more on dates than Australian women, new research has found. But, both genders have upped their dating game following shows like The Bachelor.

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