(Reuters) -Canadian data analytics software maker Telus International made a A$1.2 billion ($830 million) buyout approach for Australian rival Appen Ltd, the target company said on Thursday, sending its shares soaring.

Westpac Banking Corp said on Thursday it would sell one of its financial advisory businesses, Advance Asset Management, to pension fund Mercer Australia, as part of the bank's ongoing push to exit non-core businesses.

All participants at the Federal Reserve's May 3-4 policy meeting backed a half-percentage-point rate increase to combat inflation they agreed had become a key threat to the economy's performance and was at risk of racing higher without central bank action, newly released minutes of the session showed.

An index measuring prices Japanese firms charge each other for services rose in April at the fastest annual pace in more than two years, data showed on Thursday, a sign that inflationary pressure is building broadly across the economy.

It could be years before card fees from global payments duo Mastercard and Visa can be capped again to cut costs for retailers and consumers, Britain's payments regulator told lawmakers on Wednesday.