The World Today

President-elect Donald Trump has been known to send the stock prices of large corporations tumbling with a single tweet. But last night Mr Trump put a rocket under the Australian dollar as he delivered his first press conference as president-elect. The dollar rose a full US cent against the greenback as traders pared back their hopes that incoming president would make good on his plans to turbo-charge the nation's economic growth.

There could soon be a significant change to the makeup of the Senate crossbench, with Rod Culleton forced out of the Upper House following his declaration as bankrupt. The former One Nation Senator-turned Independent claims he's solvent and he'll fight in court to clear his name. But his attempt to prove he's not bankrupt isn't expected to succeed. Meanwhile the Senate vacancy created by his removal won't be the only one that will have to be filled, with the High Court due to rule on Bob Day's replacement as well.

The Taliban have released a video which purportedly shows an Australian and American hostage urging President-elect Donald Trump to arrange a prisoner exchange to secure their freedom. Australian man Timothy Weeks and American Kevin King were snatched off the street in Kabul and taken hostage in August last year.

Another controversy has erupted involving Donald Trump's links to Russia. US media is reporting that the nation's intelligence agencies presented President Barack Obama with a summary of unsubstantiated reports that Russia has collected compromising and salacious personal information about Mr Trump. The document is said to contain allegations that Russian operatives claim to have compromising personal and financial information on the President-elect, who is due to be sworn in on January 20.

US President Barack Obama prepares to leave the White House in the days ahead to make way for his successor in the Oval Office. Dr Michael Fullilove, executive director of the Lowy Institute, assesses the Obama administration. Speaking with The World Today's Nick Grimm, Dr Fullilove commends Obama's domestic policies, with lower unemployment and relatively strong GDP growth. However, he sees the 'bloodbath' of Syria as the blackest mark against the outgoing President's name and believes that, while he avoided making some of the 'catastrophic errors' of his predecessor, he became overly cautious in his international policy and may have emboldened countries like Russia.

Centrelink's scandal-plagued debt recovery system is working perfectly fine, according to the Minister in charge. The Human Services Minister, Alan Tudge, has finally spoken publicly about claims that people are being incorrectly sent letters stating they owe money, dismissing suggestions that the system is broken. Labor has described his defence of Centrelink's system as laughable and won't back down from calls for the system to be suspended. Meanwhile, the expenses scandal that began with suspended health minister Sussan Ley's Gold Coast apartment purchase is spreading to other members of the frontbench.

One of the world's most celebrated war correspondents has died at the age of 105. Clare Hollingworth is no longer a household name, but she covered war and conflicts across the world - and narrowly escaped death several times. She's most famous for breaking one of the biggest stories of the 20th century: the outbreak of World War Two.

Intense publicity around a series of shark attacks on the New South Wales north coast this year is testing the resilience of the region's tourism. Several shark attacks along the coast, including at Ballina and Forster, have left surfers bloodied and bruised. The last fatality was in February 2015, in Ballina. Local and state authorities have responded with drum lines, shark nets, drones and helicopters. But has the heightened awareness of sharks deterred tourists?

The Federal Government continues to face criticism over politicians' perks, with the revelation that a number of ministers claimed travel allowance to attend a New Year's Eve party hosted by the Prime Minister. The focus on perceived ministerial indulgences has delivered the Government a messy start to the year, as it struggles to seize the political momentum. The controversy comes amid renewed calls for Centrelink to halt its debt recovery efforts.

It's currently a bull market for stocks, but experts are cautious about how long the run is likely to last. There's concern that some of the forces driving shares higher are only temporary; and the higher the market goes, the harder it will fall. So what has been driving the stocks higher - and can it last?