| * Asia stocks climb after Summers' withdrawal * Bank lending to emerging markets soars to record * Epidemic of violence triggers Karachi crackdown * India and US retreat from WTO battle over food security * Vodafone considers acquisitions in India * Mexico's 'Aztec tiger' economy struggles to earn its stripes * Shanghai free-trade Zone sparked excitement but is short on specifics * Cathay hits at Qantas and China Eastern * Obama upbeat on Iran nuclear talks after contacting Rouhani * China debt dispute strands cruise ship tourists on Korean island * Markets: up Asia stocks climb after Summers' withdrawal: Larry Summers' abrupt withdrawal from the running to be the next Federal Reserve chief has juiced Asia-Pacific equity markets and currencies.
http://on.ft.com/14Z0J4J Bank lending to emerging markets soars to record: Cross-border lending to emerging markets surged by $267bn, to an estimated $3.4tn, in the first quarter of 2013, the Bank for International Settlements said on Sunday. The BIS said the 8.4 per cent increase was by far the highest recorded, with the amount of interbank lending rising by almost $200bn, or 12 per cent.
http://on.ft.com/19UIkcO Epidemic of violence triggers Karachi crackdown: Armed robberies, shoot-outs between rival gangs and kidnappings for ransom "have become so commonplace that they don't make the headlines any more", complains a prominent Karachi businessman who asks to remain anonymous. "We just live with this as a fact of life."
http://on.ft.com/16uMmZz India and US retreat from WTO battle over food security: Developing nations have made securing a WTO deal to allow government food-buying and distribution programmes for the poor a priority this year. They argue that developing countries need greater flexibility than allowed under WTO rules in setting the prices they can pay to poor farmers and what governments can do with any surplus grains.
http://on.ft.com/16axqfU Vodafone is eyeing acquisitions in India, where it sees itself as a "natural consolidator" once changes to merger rules allow a long-anticipated shake-up in the country's fragmented telecoms market, the UK-based group's chief executive in the country has said.
http://on.ft.com/19TO32t Mexico's 'Aztec tiger' economy struggles to earn its stripes: When Enrique Peña Nieto assumed the Mexican presidency in December, he seemed to promise a breath of fresh air to blow away the cobwebs of the past and unleash an "Aztec tiger". Ten months later, however, the tiger appears to have run out of puff.
http://on.ft.com/193L8TN "Enthusiasm over China's plans for a free-trade zone in Shanghai has reached fever-pitch levels..but officials are staying mum on details, and major stumbling blocks remain. Analysts say while companies operating in the 29-square-kilometer zone may benefit from looser capital controls and fewer barriers to trade and investment, it will be years before the testing ground in Shanghai has a more meaningful impact on the world's second-largest economy."
http://on.wsj.com/189YVpv Cathay hits at Qantas and China Eastern: Cathay Pacific, Hong Kong's flag carrier, has become embroiled in an increasingly public dogfight with Qantas Airways and China Eastern Airlines about their plans to launch a budget airline in the Chinese territory.
http://on.ft.com/1eRGRaY Obama upbeat on Iran nuclear talks after contacting Rouhani: The US has opened back-channel communications with the new Iranian leadership in advance of a crucial period of talks over Iran's nuclear programme, which has moved sharply into focus after the weekend agreement on Syria's chemical weapons.
http://on.ft.com/185BOyK "More than 2,300 passengers and crew were stranded on an South Korean island after a court ordered their Chinese cruise ship detained in a $58 million debt dispute."
http://bloom.bg/19VZfeY
Emerging Markets
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