| * Chinese official endorses monetary easing * Beijing at home on global regulatory stage * Stocks mixed as gold stabilises * Pinewood in Chinese film tie-up * Trial of Russian blogger adjourned * 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: mixed Chinese official endorses monetary easing
A senior Chinese official has given a cautious endorsement to the radical monetary easing policies in Japan and the US, calling them necessary but not sufficient to trigger economic recoveries.
http://on.ft.com/14viAVH Beijing at home on global regulatory stage
As Chinese regulators review global deals, Beijing is increasingly taking national interest and industrial policy into account rather than considering the deals strictly on antitrust grounds, a shift highlighted by the far-reaching conditions placed on the $64bn Glencore-Xstrata deal.
http://on.ft.com/10f5PNF Stocks mixed as gold stabilises
Wednesday 10.30 BST. A swift drop for European stocks stands in contrast to a firm showing out of Asia, as investors parse a number of catalysts, including a mixed bag of corporate earnings, concerns over global growth and the support provided by ongoing central bank largesse.
http://on.ft.com/172JCkI Pinewood in Chinese film tie-up
Pinewood Shepperton, home of the James Bond films, has formed an alliance with one of China's biggest media groups in an attempt to break into the world's fastest-growing film market.
http://on.ft.com/10dN7WL Trial of Russian blogger adjourned
The trial of the Russian blogger and opposition activist Alexei Navalny got under way in the provincial town of Kirov on Wednesday, but was quickly postponed for a week after the defence asked for more time to prepare its case.
http://on.ft.com/13ixv0S 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://on.ft.com/ZpJxp9 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 down -0.16% at 1,007 Europe
FTSE down -0.47% at 6,275
RTS down -1.59% at 1,335
Warsaw Wig down -1.26% at 44,161
FTSE 300 Eurotop down -0.93% at 1,155 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 +1.22% at 13,383
Topix up +1.50% at 1,136
Hang Seng down -0.47% at 21,570
Shanghai Composite down -0.05% at 2,194
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.11% at 464.62
CNX Nifty down 0.00% at 5,689 Currencies
€/$ 1.32 (1.32)
$/¥ 98.09 (97.52) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) down -0.60 at 99.31
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.71 at 88.01
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -4.30 at 1,383 | 
