| * China steps up Caribbean strategy
* Middle East sovereign wealth funds bypass private equity funds
* Sluggish Thai growth deepens fears of wider Asian slowdown
* Ugandan newspaper raided over Museveni plot claim
* América Móvil eyes bigger role in US prepaid cellphone market
* Syrian regime battles for key rebel stronghold
* Essar Oil to sign fuel-for-cash deal with China Development Bank
Markets: Mostly lower China steps up Caribbean strategy China is raising its strategic influence in the Caribbean as it takes advantage of the continuing US withdrawal from what George W. Bush called his country's "third border". http://on.ft.com/117OUFY Middle East sovereign wealth funds bypass private equity funds Middle East sovereign wealth funds are boosting their investment in unlisted companies and increasingly bypassing private equity funds as they seek higher returns. http://on.ft.com/11T0kVK Sluggish Thai growth deepens fears of wider Asian slowdown Thailand's economy grew more slowly than expected in the first three months of this year, adding to a slew of recent disappointing data from other Asian economies that have cast a shadow over one of the world's fastest-growing regions. http://on.ft.com/10hNtcu Ugandan newspaper raided over Museveni plot claim Police in Uganda have closed down a Kampala-based newspaper majority owned by Kenyan blue-chip Nation Media Group over its reports that high-level critics claim the president intends to hand over power to his son. http://on.ft.com/YVJsJN América Móvil eyes bigger role in US prepaid cellphone market Almost a year after America Movil, the largest telecoms company in Latin America, made its first acquisition in the US prepaid cellphone market, when it bought Simple Mobile, the company has done it again. http://on.ft.com/18ZJqES Syrian regime battles for key rebel stronghold Syrian forces backed by Lebanon militant group Hizbollah pushed on Monday into the strategic city of Qusair, a key supply route for the opposition and a vital link for the regime between its coastal heartlands and Damascus. http://on.ft.com/18cSViD Essar Oil to sign fuel-for-cash deal with China Development Bank India's Essar Oil, a division of London-listed Essar Energy, is set to announce an unusual debt financing deal with state-run China Development Bank, in a further sign of deepening financial ties between Asia's two largest emerging economies. http://on.ft.com/YVJzoR Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.02% at 1,048 Americas
DJIA down -0.12% at 15,335
S&P 500 down -0.07% at 1,666
Bovespa up +0.97% at 55,701 Asia
Nikkei 225 down -0.31% at 15,312
Topix down -0.08% at 1,269
Hang Seng down -0.42% at 23,395
Shanghai Composite down -0.15% at 2,297
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.08% at 563.01
CNX Nifty up +0.12% at 6,164 Currencies
€/$ 1.29 (1.29)
$/¥ 102.45 (102.26) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.04 at 104.84
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.06 at 96.65
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +3.20 at 1,388 | 
