| * Nikkei plunge triggers investor retreat * China data add urgency to stimulus calls * Emerging stocks head for biggest drop in 10 months * Labour unrest threatens UAE construction * Brent declines to three-week low * China urbanization plan hits roadblock over spending fears-sources * India sets guidelines to meet EU drug import rules * PetroChina to Seek Greater Cooperation With Exxon, BP, Shell * Dollar rally saps Asian currency strength * Chinese broker Galaxy enjoys strong debut * Nigeria statistics chief has almost figured out the economy * South African rand sinks to 4-year low * Iran's business shocked by Rafsanjani poll disqualification * SocGen to fire chief of Russian lender Rosbank * Argentines seek financial refuge in art * Seoul warned over EU and US trade agreements * China factory output hits seven-month low Markets: down Nikkei plunge triggers investor retreat Global stocks are in sharp retreat, led by a savage plunge in Tokyo, as traders are spooked by the prospect of reduced central bank support and a slowing Chinese economy. http://on.ft.com/1964mdq China data add urgency to stimulus calls A deteriorating economic landscape, highlighted by a new survey of industry, could overwhelm the political calendar and test the new government's resolve to refrain from deploying short-term fixes for sluggish growth. http://on.ft.com/12wjsU Emerging Stocks Head for Biggest Drop in 10 Month Emerging-market stocks tumbled the most in 10 months and currencies depreciated as disappointing Chinese manufacturing data and speculation the Federal Reserve will scale back stimulus cut demand for riskier assets. http://bloom.bg/14PFnrk Labour unrest threatens UAE construction The return of labour unrest in theUnited Arab Emirates is a reminder of potential pitfalls as the country embarks on a renewed construction drive. Workers at a leading contractor, Arabtec, downed tools for several days in a rare strike that echoed labour tensions prevalent during the UAE's construction boom before the global financial crisis. http://on.ft.com/18jQnzn Brent Declines to Three-Week Low Brent crude declined for a third day to its lowest intraday level in three weeks as manufacturing in China shrank and U.S. gasoline stockpiles increased. http://bloom.bg/14SIpv0 China urbanization plan hits roadblock over spending fears-sources China's plan to spend $6.5 trillion on urbanization to bolster the economy is running into snags, sources close to the government said, as top leaders fear another spending binge could push up local debt levels and inflate a property bubble. http://reut.rs/18k55GC India sets guidelines to meet EU drug import rules The Indian government said on Thursday it had set guidelines for pharmaceutical makers to comply with a European Union directive on standards for import of bulk drugs into the EU that takes effect on July 2. http://reut.rs/16PX8ek PetroChina to Seek Greater Cooperation With Exxon, BP, Shell PetroChina Co. (857), the country's biggest oil and gas producer, will seek to increase cooperation with companies including Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM), BP Plc (BP/) and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSA) as it looks to add overseas resources. http://bloom.bg/14Tv05Z Dollar rally saps Asian currency strength For the tens of thousands of Filipino maids working in Hong Kong and supporting families at home, currency markets have been unkind in recent years. Based on the minimum wage, each would have taken home 25,300 pesos a month when Ben Bernanke announced the first round of quantitative easing in November 2008. At the beginning of this month that had fallen to just 20,650 pesos, thanks to capital flows into Asia, which have driven up their native currency against the US dollar. http://on.ft.com/14R4rhG Chinese broker Galaxy enjoys strong debut Hong Kong's retail investors appear to have recovered their stomach for stock market investing after they sent Galaxy Securities 6 per cent higher on its market debut. http://on.ft.com/12wjOKI Nigeria statistics chief has almost figured out the economy The National Bureau of Statistics has been working since early 2012 to gather enough data to rebase Nigeria's GDP, which is at present measured against output and consumption patterns from 1990, when booming sectors like mobile telecommunications and the "Nollywood" film industry did not exist. Most developed countries change their calculations every five years. http://on.ft.com/11c1Ctl South African rand sinks to 4-year low A yield of 5 per cent in today's low interest rate environment would be expected to attract global income tourists, boosting a country's currency. But it's not lifting the South African rand, which this week dropped to a four-year low versus the US dollar. http://on.ft.com/12MM9ye Iran's business shocked by Rafsanjani poll disqualification Iran's business community has reacted with shock to Tehran's decision to bar former president Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani from running in next month's presidential poll, seeing it as a blow to the possibility of reform for the beleaguered economy. http://on.ft.com/ZdDQx0 SocGen to fire chief of Russian lender Rosbank
Société Générale, France's second-largest bank by market value, said on Wednesday it would fire the head of Rosbank, its Russian banking subsidiary, after the arrest of the executive last week on bribery charges. http://on.ft.com/12wkmjF Argentines seek financial refuge in art Picasso famously had his blue period. Argentina has its blue dollar – as the black market exchange rate is known. And that's good news for art collectors and visitors to the ArteBA art fair which kicks off this week. http://on.ft.com/194RXX5 Seoul warned over EU and US trade agreements South Korea is under pressure from international financial groups over its implementation of US and EU trade agreements, with companies warning that it is doing too little towards promised liberalisation of data transfers. http://on.ft.com/16RwD8T China factory output hits seven-month low China's factory activity shrank for the first time in seven months in May as new orders fell, a preliminary survey of purchasing managers showed, adding to concerns that a recovery in the world's second-largest economy is sputtering. http://on.ft.com/12wjsUl Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index down -1.99% at 1,027 Europe
FTSE unchanged -1.95% at 6,707
RTS down -3.05% at 1,417
Warsaw Wig down -1.16% at 45,400
FTSE 300 Eurotop down -2.08% at 1,230 Americas
DJIA down -0.52% at 15,307
S&P 500 down -0.83% at 1,655
Bovespa up +0.29% at 56,429 Asia
Nikkei 225 down -7.32% at 14,484
Topix down -6.87% at 1,188
Hang Seng down -2.54% at 22,670
Shanghai Composite down -1.16% at 2,276
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -2.43% at 479.84
CNX Nifty down -2.10% at 5,966 Currencies
€/$ 1.29 (1.29)
$/¥ 101.44 (103.15) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) down -1.28 at 101.32
Light Crude (Nymex) down -1.34 at 92.94
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +13.00 at 1,381 | 
