In an attempt to bring the nation's budget back to balance, the Australian government will target around 20,000 welfare cheats who are choosing to rort the system instead of actively search for work, Employment Minister Michaelia Cash said on Monday.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday raised its forecast for global economic growth in 2017, saying buoyant financial markets and a long-awaited cyclical recovery in manufacturing and trade supported the improved outlook.

The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 19 basis points to 6.8949 against the U.S. dollar Friday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.

The New South Wales state government committed 8 million Australian dollars (6.132 million U.S. dollars) on Thursday to improve social housing and community facilities for disadvantaged Australians.

China Construction Bank Corp. said on Wednesday its net profit in 2016 rose 1.45 percent to 231.46 billion yuan (about 33.6 billion U.S. dollars), buoyed mainly by commissions and fees.

China's central bank on Wednesday skipped the open market operations of reverse repos, siphoning liquidity from the market.