| * Shell-backed Iraqi $17bn gas project gets under way * Demand jitters take oil price back below $100 * Philippines: investment grade (x2) * BG Group and Ophir reveal drilling success off east African coast * China guides renminbi to fresh high against US dollar * Bank tie-up collapses in Egypt * Bolivian president expels US aid agency * Punch-up highlights Venezuelan tensions under Maduro * Emerging markets gain from central bank reserve shift Markets: mainly down Shell-backed Iraqi $17bn gas project gets under way
A $17bn natural gas project in Iraq backed by Royal Dutch Shell began operations on Wednesday, marking a milestone in the country's fragile post-war recovery. http://on.ft.com/18cYDSw Demand jitters take oil price back below $100
Oil prices have lost the key $100 a barrel level for the second time in a month as poor economic data from China and the US added to jitters about demand. http://on.ft.com/12W8rNz Philippines: investment grade (x2)
The Philippines has some news to cheer: Standard & Poor's, the rating agency, has bumped up its credit rating one notch to 'BBB-'.
http://on.ft.com/1301dIz BG Group and Ophir reveal drilling success off east African coast
The prospects of Tanzania becoming a significant exporter of natural gas to world markets moved a step closer on Wednesday as BG Group and its partner Ophir Energy announced further drilling success off the east African coast
http://on.ft.com/ZoXjpa China guides renminbi to fresh high against US dollar
The Chinese renminbi marched to a record high against the US dollar on Thursday, adding to a recent burst of appreciation and spurring talk that Beijing is poised to soon let the currency trade more freely
http://on.ft.com/ZBcEXj Bank tie-up collapses in Egypt
A joint venture agreement between EFG-Hermes, the leading Middle East investment bank, and QInvest of Qatar has collapsed because the regulator in Egypt did not give its approval in time.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/562378d4-b27a-11e2-8540-00144feabdc0.html Bolivian president expels US aid agency
Bolivia's president threatened a further deterioration of relations with Washington on Wednesday by demanding that the US Agency for International Development leave the Andean country.
http://on.ft.com/12nciAG/a> Punch-up highlights Venezuelan tensions under Maduro
After an unseemly brawl broke out in Venezuela's national assembly this week, one of the bloodied opposition parliamentarians recounted how Diosdado Cabello, the assembly's pro-government head, had looked down on the rowdy scene with a gleeful smile.
http://on.ft.com/17y4r7S Emerging markets gain from central bank reserve shift
Toasting central bankers is not a popular pastime, but Poles and Mexicans have good reason to offer them a warm Na zdrowie and salud. Both Poland and Mexico's short term borrowing costs hit a record low this week, at least partly driven by quiet but significant purchases by central bank reserve managers in Asia, investors say.
http://on.ft.com/10XzHyf Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index up +0.02% at 1,038 Europe
FTSE up -0.22% at 6,437
RTS down -1.30% at 1,389
Warsaw Wig up +0.15% at 44,228
FTSE 300 Eurotop down -0.05% at 1,201 Americas
DJIA down -0.94% at 14,701
S&P 500 down -0.93% at 1,583
Bovespa up +1.86% at 55,910 Asia
Nikkei 225 down -0.76% at 13,694
Topix down -0.44% at 1,153
Hang Seng down -0.30% at 22,668
Shanghai Composite down -0.17% at 2,174
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.12% at 482.31
CNX Nifty up +1.17% at 5,999 Currencies
€/$ 1.32 (1.32)
$/¥ 97.22 (97.38) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.79 at 100.74
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.39 at 91.42
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +9.20 at 1,456 | 
