| * Santander profits hit by LatAm weakness * South Korea growth at two-year high * Etisalat and Ooredoo battle for stake in Maroc Telecom * Nigeria's Dangote Cement lifts revenues 24% * Axa targets growth with share in Chinese insurer * China reels in Hollywood as multiplex screens thrive * Mahindra Bets on Decade-Old Bolero to Beat Tata: Corporate India * Short Sales Double as Profits Tumble: Corporate Brazil * Rwanda Debut $400 Million Bond Said to Yield at Bottom of Range Markets: mixed Santander profits hit by LatAm weakness
Santander, Spain's biggest lender, suffered a 26 per cent fall in first-quarter net profits after Brazil, the UK and most of the bank's other key markets reported a slowdown in business.
http://on.ft.com/10ePfpS South Korea growth at two-year high
South Korea's economy grew at the fastest quarterly pace for two years in the first three months of the year, boosted by recovering exports and facilities investment.
http://on.ft.com/1492gcS Etisalat and Ooredoo battle for stake in Maroc Telecom
Etisalat, the Emirates-based telecoms group, and Ooredoo, the newly renamed Qatari telecoms group, have lodged bids to acquire the majority stake owned by Vivendi in Maroc Telecom, the largest telecoms operator in Morocco.
http://on.ft.com/149k7jZ Nigeria's Dangote Cement lifts revenues 24%
Dangote Cement, Nigeria's largest company, increased its revenues and profits by 24 per cent in 2012 after opening two new plants in Africa's most populous country.
http://on.ft.com/14QzNt5 Axa targets growth with share in Chinese insurer
Axa, the French insurer, is expanding its business in Asia through a €485m deal to buy 50 per cent of Tian Ping, a Chinese car insurance company, as part of its pledge to double its size in "high-growth" markets.
http://on.ft.com/11EB0ik China reels in Hollywood as multiplex screens thrive
Not long ago most Chinese figures appearing in Hollywood films were peripheral characters, villains and bad guys – with the notable exception of Jackie Chan. But Chinese characters – and China as a setting – are becoming increasingly prominent, judging by Iron Man 3, the latest blockbuster from Walt Disney's Marvel division.
http://on.ft.com/146vhpE Mahindra Bets on Decade-Old Bolero to Beat Tata: Corporate India
Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (MM), the maker of the Bolero utility carrier, is betting on the decade-old model to help it overtake Tata Motors Ltd. (TTMT) as India's third- largest seller of passenger vehicles.
http://bloom.bg/11EhGlg Short Sales Double as Profits Tumble: Corporate Brazil
Short sellers in Brazil, whose favorite targets tumbled five times faster than MSCI Inc.'s country stock index this year, are boosting bearish wagers to a record after valuations rose to the highest levels since 2008.
http://bloom.bg/11DCZ6p Rwanda Debut $400 Million Bond Said to Yield at Bottom of Range
Rwanda raised $400 million in its debut dollar bond at the lowest end of yield guidance given to investors, according to a person with knowledge of the deal.
http://bloom.bg/17jSt1R Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index up +0.60% at 1,024 Europe
FTSE up -0.14% at 6,423
RTS up +0.90% at 1,388
Warsaw Wig up 0.00% at 43,357
FTSE 300 Eurotop up +0.14% at 1,194 Americas
DJIA down -0.29% at 14,676
S&P 500 up 0.00% at 1,579
Bovespa up +0.18% at 54,984 Asia
Nikkei 225 up +0.60% at 13,926
Topix up +0.51% at 1,170
Hang Seng up +0.98% at 22,401
Shanghai Composite up +0.17% at 2,222
MSCI Asia ex-Japan up +0.67% at 472.85
CNX Nifty up +0.83% at 5,885 Currencies
€/$ 1.31 (1.30)
$/¥ 99.37 (99.47) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.15 at 101.88
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.38 at 91.81
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +21.50 at 1,445 | 
