| * Shuanghui agrees $4.7bn deal for Smithfield Foods * Doubts cloud Brazil outlook after disappointing first quarter * JLR sales offset woes at Indian parent * Iron ore hit by Chinese steel doldrums * Prosecutors begin raids as South Korea launches tax probe * ISDX penalises Colombian Mineral Resources following rules breach * Nigeria: banking system not out of the woods yet, IMF says Markets: down Shuanghui agrees $4.7bn deal for Smithfield Foods China's biggest meat processor has offered $4.7bn in cash for Smithfield Foods, in what will be the largest Chinese takeover of a US company if completed. http://on.ft.com/112jr8v Doubts cloud Brazil outlook after disappointing first quarter Brazil's central bank on Wednesday night overlooked weak first quarter economic growth and tightened interest rates more than expected to try to prevent stagflation from worsening in Latin America's biggest country. http://on.ft.com/11yhdU9 JLR sales offset woes at Indian parent A surge in Jaguar Land Rover's Chinese sales helped Tata Motors to produce better than expected fourth-quarter results and overcome a loss at its Indian parent group'sailing domestic operations. http://on.ft.com/19me37H Iron ore hit by Chinese steel doldrums Iron ore prices tumbled to a seven-month low on Wednesday as negativity spread through the Chinese steel industry. Analysts said that both traders and steelmakers in China, which accounts for 60 per cent of global seaborne iron ore imports, had been selling down stocks amid widespread anxiety about the outlook for demand, and concerns about overcapacity in the industry. http://on.ft.com/13jq5du Prosecutors begin raids as South Korea launches tax probe Prosecutors raided the home of one of South Korea's most prominent businessmen on Wednesday, amid growing scrutiny of offshore financial arrangements made by the country's corporate elite. http://on.ft.com/13Z5qNY ISDX penalises Colombian Mineral Resources following rules breach An Ireland-registered coal mining company has been fined £100,000 for lying about its funding in the first disciplinary action taken by the ICAP Securities & Derivatives Exchange since taking over the Plus market last year. http://on.ft.com/12QfFRU Nigeria: banking system not out of the woods yet, IMF says For Nigerian banks and their investors, the financial crisis of 2009 may feel like a long time ago. The Nigerian Stock Exchange has been one of the world's standout performers over the past year and prices of bank shares have soared. They're not out of the woods yet though, according to the International Monetary Fund, which has taken an in-depth look at the sector in a report released this week calling for further tightening of regulation http://on.ft.com/158KALI Emerging Markets MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.31% at 1,017 Americas DJIA down -0.69% at 15,303 S&P 500 down -0.70% at 1,648 Bovespa down -2.50% at 54,635 Asia Nikkei 225 down -3.45% at 13,832 Topix down -2.41% at 1,150 Hang Seng down -0.42% at 22,460 Shanghai Composite down -0.29% at 2,317 MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.49% at 546.74 CNX Nifty down -0.24% at 6,090 Currencies €/$ 1.30 (1.29) $/¥ 101.05 (101.13) Commodities Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.32 at 102.75 Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.10 at 93.23 100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +3.20 at 1,395 |