| * Lebanon chooses Salam as prime minister * China clears renminbi-Aussie direct trading * Seoul on alert over North Korea threat * Kerry urges Turkey-Israel to restore ties * SouthWest eyes east Africa oil boom * Chinese thirst for formula spurs rationing * Indonesia moves to outlaw black magic Markets: mixed Lebanon chooses Salam as prime minister Lebanon's prime minister-designate begins the difficult task of forming a national unity government, after warring political factions put aside their differences and agreed on his appointment. http://on.ft.com/10GARIY China clears renminbi-Aussie direct trading Direct currency trading between the Australian dollar and the renminbi will begin this week, Australian prime minister Julia Gillard said on Monday. The Australian dollar will become only the third currency to trade directly with the Chinese currency, alongside the US dollar and the Japanese yen, after ANZ and Westpac were given trading clearance by the Chinese central bank. http://on.ft.com/Zhc5x5 Seoul on alert over North Korea threat The crisis over North Korean belligerence deepened on Sunday as officials in Washington and Seoul warned that Pyongyang could act on its threats to launch a missile this week, ahead of the anniversary of founding president Kim Il-sung's birthday on April 15. http://on.ft.com/14Pm4RO Kerry urges Turkey-Israel to restore ties John Kerry, US secretary of state, has said it is "imperative" that Turkey and Israel restore normal diplomatic ties, in a sign of Washington's concern that the US-brokered reconciliation between the two neighbours stays on course. http://on.ft.com/ZaZOuJ SouthWest eyes east Africa oil boom SouthWest Energy of Ethiopia aims to be the latest company to profit from east Africa's oil and gas exploration boom after securing encouraging third-party estimates for the amount of oil contained in its licences across the country. http://on.ft.com/XmcUYP Chinese thirst for formula spurs rationing Supermarkets as far afield as the UK and Australia have been forced to ration infant formula due to rampant Chinese demand for foreign-made baby milk. Mainland Chinese buyers have been snapping up cans of formula across the globe following safety scandals in the domestic market, starting with the melamine-spiked milk of 2008 that killed six babies and left 300,000 sick. http://on.ft.com/16GqKrF Indonesia moves to outlaw black magic He claims to have overcome evil spirits, helped hundreds of politicians and businessmen to kill their rivals and even put a curse on George W. Bush when the US president visited Indonesia. But now Iman Santoso, one of Indonesia's best-known warlocks, has a real world problem he may not be able to solve so easily: an attempt by Indonesia's parliament to outlaw black magic. http://on.ft.com/10ueyrE Emerging Markets MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.13% at 1,007 Americas DJIA down -0.28% at 14,565 S&P 500 down -0.43% at 1,553 Bovespa up +0.74% at 55,051 Asia Nikkei 225 up +2.40% at 13,141 Topix up +2.56% at 1,093 Hang Seng up +0.11% at 21,751 Shanghai Composite down -0.73% at 2,209 MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.38% at 527.63 S&P CNX Nifty Index up +0.07% at 5,557 Currencies €/$ 1.30 (1.30) $/¥ 98.51 (97.84) Commodities Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.48 at 104.60 Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.19 at 92.89 100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +0.20 at 1,576 |