| * Xi vows to protect foreign business * North Korea to suspend Kaesong operations * China opens Aussie dollar direct trading * Maduro needs military's loyalty * Huawei projects pick-up in sales growth * Lebanon chooses Salam as prime minister * 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 Xi vows to protect foreign business China's President Xi Jinping has promised to protect the interests of global companies amid rising concern among foreign businesses about discriminatory policies that hurt their operations in China. http://on.ft.com/Y8GtyE North Korea to suspend Kaesong operations North Korea said on Monday it would withdraw its workers from the Kaesong factory park it jointly runs with South Korea and temporarily suspend all operations there. http://on.ft.com/YG0RX8 China opens Aussie dollar direct trading Direct currency trading between the Australian dollar and the renminbi will begin this week, Julia Gillard, Australian prime minister, said on Monday. http://on.ft.com/Zhc5x5 Maduro needs military's loyalty From the moment the late Hugo Chávez first burst on to the national stage with a military coup 21 years ago, to his final resting place in the barracks where he led that failed uprising, his close connection with Venezuela's army was never in any doubt. http://on.ft.com/17lHYfl Huawei projects pick-up in sales growth Huawei, China's largest vendor of telecoms equipment, has forecast its revenue growth will average 10 per cent annually over the next five years, as it benefits from cloud computing, data analysis and smartphone sales. http://on.ft.com/16HjBFL 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 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 -0.11% at 1,007 Europe FTSE down +0.23% at 6,264 RTS up +0.88% at 1,424 Warsaw Wig up +0.92% at 45,008 FTSE 300 Eurotop up +0.39% at 1,167 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 +2.80% at 13,193 Topix up +3.33% at 1,102 Hang Seng down -0.04% at 21,718 Shanghai Composite down -0.62% at 2,212 MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.63% at 461.37 S&P CNX Nifty Index down -0.19% at 5,543 Currencies €/$ 1.30 (1.30) $/¥ 98.67 (97.84) Commodities Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.94 at 105.06 Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.66 at 93.36 100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +1.70 at 1,577 |