| * Chinese economy grows 7.7% in Q1 * Palestinian prime minister resigns * Norilsk profits fall risks hurting Rusal * Israel eyes gas exports to neighbours * Venezuelans vote on Chávez successor * Soaring reserves put renminbi back in the spotlight * 'War of lists' chills US-Russia ties * Yield hunt boosts Asian junk debt Markets: down Chinese economy grows 7.7% in Q1
China's economy grew 7.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2013 compared to a year earlier, a surprising slowdown that underlines the challenges facing its new leaders as they try to keep growth on track while also pursuing deeper economic reforms.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4a64e738-a570-11e2-a94c-00144feabdc0.html Palestinian prime minister resigns
The Palestinian prime minister, Salam Fayyad, has resigned, ending weeks of speculation about his future, but he will stay in power for a transition period, officials in Ramallah said on Sunday.
http://on.ft.com/Yoniwk Norilsk profits fall risks hurting Rusal
Stagnation in the metals sector and low world prices were brought into sharp relief as Norilsk Nickel announced a 41 per cent fall in net profits to $2.14bn for 2012. Russia's largest mining company and the world's biggest nickel and palladium miner announced the drop on Friday, exceeding analysts' expectations of a 20 per cent fall, to $2.89bn.
http://on.ft.com/ZquBnu Israel eyes gas exports to neighbours
A leading investor in Israel's natural gas sector said initial talks were under way on exporting some of the country's abundant offshore reserves to Turkey, Jordan, Egypt, and a proposed power plant in the West Bank.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a77f07d6-a508-11e2-8777-00144feabdc0.html Venezuelans vote on Chávez successor
Venezuelans head to the polls on Sunday, in the Opec country's second presidential election in six months, pitting Hugo Chávez's handpicked successor, Nicolás Maduro, against the opposition state governor Henrique Capriles.
http://on.ft.com/158ir9S Soaring reserves put renminbi back in the spotlight
Last year was a calm one for the renminbi. China's trade and current account surpluses fell below 3 per cent of GDP in 2012, suggesting that the economy was on its way to resolving its protracted external imbalances. Capital inflows eased off and capital outflows rose as the government liberalised controls on outflows. Net accumulation of foreign exchange reserves was just over $130bn, compared to $330bn in 2011 and an average of nearly $450bn per year in the four years preceding that.
http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/04/15/guest-post-soaring-reserves-put-renminbi-back-in-the-spotlight/ 'War of lists' chills US-Russia ties
Tit-for-tat bans on US and Russian officials travelling between the countries have plunged relations between Moscow and Washington to a new low on the eve of a high-level US visit to Russia's capital.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/454dde98-a51c-11e2-a94c-00144feabdc0.html Yield hunt boosts Asian junk debt
It may only be April, but the global hunt for income has led to so much demand for high-yielding Asian debt that 2013 is already a record year for issuance. Junk-rated borrowers have so far raised $18.1bn in the market this year, bettering the previous full-year high of $16.2bn set in 2010, according to data from Dealogic.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e55065c8-a4e0-11e2-a94c-00144feabdc0.html Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.56% at 1,014 Americas
DJIA down 0.00% at 14,865
S&P 500 down -0.28% at 1,589
Bovespa down -0.79% at 54,963 Asia
Nikkei 225 down -1.44% at 13,291
Topix down -1.38% at 1,133
Hang Seng down -1.52% at 21,753
Shanghai Composite down -0.92% at 2,186
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.85% at 529.33
CNX Nifty down -0.20% at 5,518 Currencies
€/$ 1.31 (1.31)
$/¥ 97.66 (97.70) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) down -2.15 at 100.96
Light Crude (Nymex) down -2.52 at 88.77
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -61.60 at 1,439 | 
