Good morning! Morning Minutes is a round-up of stories that will break on Friday, Sept 2, and which we think you'd be interested in.

It appears on weekdays, available by 7am.

Harmony in Diversity exhibition opens today

Japan's PM Abe to meet Russian President Putin

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin today (Sept 2) on the sidelines of the two-day Eastern Economic Forum, which will be held in the Russian port city of Vladivostok.

Japan has been eyeing closer ties with Russia to counter China's growing clout. The two leaders will discuss closer economic cooperation in such areas as energy and technology, among other things. The meeting comes ahead of Mr Putin's visit to Japan in December, his first visit since Mr Abe took office in December 2012.

US Payroll data out today

The US Labour Department will release payroll data today (Sept 2), with economists expecting unemployment to have dropped to 4.8 per cent in August from 4.9 per cent in the previous month. An increase in job numbers will provide clues as to whether the US Federal Reserve will raise interest rates sooner rather than later. The Fed has left the door open to a hike at its Sept 20-21 meeting without giving an explicit signal that it is likely to take such action.