| * LVMH hit by weak Asia demand * Altimo offers $1.8bn to buy out Orascom * Wilmar sees African sweet spot * North Korea rejects US call for talks * Bumi finance director to step down * Won blamed for bearish Korean stocks * Bitcoins gain traction in Argentina Markets: mostly up LVMH hit by weak Asia demand
LVMH said lacklustre demand from Asia had affected sales at Louis Vuitton, the luxury goods group's flagship brand, which reported weaker-than-expected growth in the first quarter.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/1b0ecce4-a6b3-11e2-95b1-00144feabdc0.html Altimo offers $1.8bn to buy out Orascom
Mikhail Fridman's Altimo has made an offer to buy out minorities in Egypt's Orascom Telecom for $1.8bn, as the Russian oligarch seeks new uses for cash following his TNK-BP stake sale.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/7cf1582c-a6aa-11e2-95b1-00144feabdc0.html Wilmar sees African sweet spot
Asia's footprint in Africa's commodity-rich economies has been growing, with Singapore-listed companies among the biggest investors. Wilmar, the world's largest refiner of palm oil, first moved into Africa in 2007 with a couple of palm oil refining joint ventures in Uganda and Ivory Coast. Africa is short of refined palm oil and Wilmar has spotted an opportunity to fill that gap.
http://on.ft.com/17FmUjU North Korea rejects US call for talks
Pyongyang has dismissed Washington's call for talks to ease the recent escalation in tensions on the Korean peninsula, and accused the US of portraying it as an aggressor while threatening North Korea with nuclear weapons.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2d8d1320-a709-11e2-95b1-00144feabdc0.html Bumi finance director to step down
The finance director of Bumi Plc has announced he will step down from the Indonesia-focused coal miner.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/c208e1ba-a6db-11e2-885b-00144feabdc0.html Won blamed for bearish Korean stocks
The 2008 financial crisis was a blessing in disguise for South Korean exporters. As foreign investors fled risk, they cut their exposure to this open, trade-reliant economy, sending its currency plummeting in value.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4fa24fb0-9224-11e2-851f-00144feabdc0.html Bitcoins gain traction in Argentina
Argentines would love to save in dollars rather than a peso ravaged by inflation and whose value is on the skids, but the government won't let them.
http://on.ft.com/11o6V6g Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index up +0.02% at 1,009 Americas
DJIA up +1.08% at 14,757
S&P 500 up +1.43% at 1,575
Bovespa up +1.97% at 53,991 Asia
Nikkei 225 up +0.87% at 13,337
Topix up +1.20% at 1,133
Hang Seng down -0.05% at 21,661
Shanghai Composite down -0.64% at 2,181
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.06% at 531.99
CNX Nifty up +0.03% at 5,691 Currencies
€/$ 1.32 (1.32)
$/¥ 98.12 (97.52) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.37 at 100.28
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.01 at 88.73
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -7.90 at 1,379 | 
