THE NEWS WRAP: Economists predict interest rate cuts in the coming months

The Reserve Bank of Australia is set to cut interest rates in the coming months, despite a gradual lift in inflation during December, according to a group of economists.

TD-Securities said that it expects a total of 75 basis points of cuts in the coming year, leaving rates at 3.5%.

EU hits out at credit agency

The European Union has lashed out at credit agency Standard & Poor’s, claiming that it was wrong to strip France of its AAA credit rating.

Olivier Bailly, economic spokesman for the European Union, said the downgrade was “very odd” and that the idea that Europe was “pushing a strategy based on the perspective of fiscal austerity alone was a serious misperception”.

Zappos hit by hackers

Zappos, the US online retail giant, has been hit by hackers, resulting in 24 million customers changing their passwords.

The Amazon-owned site admitted that the cyber attack had exposed names, addresses and email details, but not credit card information.

Overnight

Further bad economic news did little to dampen the Australian dollar, with the local currency rising to 103.08 US cents.