| * India raises rates amid inflation worries * Stocks pause as 'phantom taper' rally stalls * Speculation on taper shifts to year's end – and beyond * Turkey relieved at Fed decision to postpone taper * Asian Currencies Have Best Weekly Gain in a Year on Fed Decision * Russia coast guards seize Greenpeace ship * US and UK steer clear of Brazil oil auction * Colombia's Avianca aims for US IPO * Armenia to issue 'Kardashian' bond * Egypt returns $2bn to Qatar in sign of worsening bilateral ties * Criminal networks blamed for Nigeria oil theft * Belarus hinted for the first time Thursday at a possible resolution in a cross-border fight over potash * Onion prices in India may extend a record rally * Markets: down(ish) India raises rates amid inflation worries
The Reserve Bank of India on Friday confounded market predictions and raised its key interest rate by 25 basis points, citing the threat of rising inflation.
http://on.ft.com/1eXbHBu Stocks pause as 'phantom taper' rally stalls
Global stocks are drifting back from five-year highs as bulls pause for breath at the end of a week in which the surprise of extended Federal Reserve largesse helped weaken the dollar, bolster commodities, suppress bond yields and pump Wall Street to record levels.
http://on.ft.com/17NKJWF Speculation on taper shifts to year's end – and beyond
Investors and economists are racing to assess whether the withdrawal of US stimulus will start later this year or will become a story for 2014, after the shock decision by the Federal Open Market Committee not to taper its asset purchases.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/4a494304-214c-11e3-8aff-00144feab7de.html Turkey relieved at Fed decision to postpone taper
The US Federal Reserve's decision to maintain monetary stimulus at its current levels has given Turkey a little more time to rein in its dependence on foreign funds, the country's finance minister has said.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/fef64f28-2141-11e3-8aff-00144feab7de.html US and UK steer clear of Brazil oil auction
The auction for one of Brazil's biggest oil discoveries has failed to attract any interest from US or UK companies, with the list of bidders led instead by Chinese companies and other Asian state-owned oil groups.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/445f9d7a-2189-11e3-8aff-00144feab7de.html Colombia's Avianca aims for US IPO
Avianca Holdings, Colombia's flag carrier, filed paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday to float shares in New York.
http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/09/19/colombias-avianca-aims-for-us-ipo/ Armenia to issue 'Kardashian' bond
What's the going rate for a Kardashian? A yield of 6.25 per cent, according to Armenia's bond issue. The "Kardashian", as it has been dubbed by Standard Bank's head of emerging markets research Timothy Ash, will be issued in Armenia's first international sovereign debt sale.
http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2013/09/19/armenia-to-issue-kardashian-bond-keep-up/ Egypt returns $2bn to Qatar in sign of worsening bilateral ties
Egypt has returned $2bn deposited by Qatar in its central bank after the failure of negotiations to convert it into a three-year bond. The decision to return the funds at a time when Cairo is relying on support from Gulf states to shore up its foreign currency reserves is another sign of worsening relations between the two countries after the Egyptian army ousted Mohamed Morsi, the Islamist president.
http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/194eb1f0-214a-11e3-a92a-00144feab7de.html Criminal networks blamed for Nigeria oil theft: Criminal networks stole at least 100,000 barrels a day of oil in Nigeria in the first quarter of 2013 and sold it to buyers in west Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas, according to a new report. The large-scale theft of crude and related pipeline sabotage reduced output in Africa's largest oil producer to below 2m b/d this summer, a four-year low. It also helped drive up the global oil price and cut the Nigerian government's revenues, nearly 80 per cent of which come from petroleum.
http://on.ft.com/18eMDQN
"The president of Belarus hinted for the first time Thursday at a possible resolution in a cross-border fight over potash that has rocked global fertilizer markets, by suggesting he is open to the idea of sending the jailed chief executive of potash miner Uralkali back to Russia for prosecution there."
http://on.wsj.com/18dPtnl Onion prices in India may extend a record rally as heavy monsoon rains delay harvests and worsen a shortage, potentially accelerating food inflation in Asia's third-largest economy. Retail prices of the vegetable used in everything from soups to curries soared to 70 rupees ($1.13) a kilogram (2.2 pounds) in New Delhi this week from 20 rupees three months earlier, according to the Consumer Affairs Ministry. Prices may increase further as farmers are unable to pick the crop due to monsoon rains"
http://bloom.bg/16KsVMC Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.20% at 1,020 Europe
FTSE up -0.03% at 6,623
RTS down -0.52% at 1,471
Warsaw Wig down -0.55% at 50,025
FTSE 300 Eurotop down -0.04% at 1,265 Americas
DJIA down -0.26% at 15,637
S&P 500 down -0.18% at 1,722
Bovespa down -1.09% at 55,096 Asia
Nikkei 225 down -0.16% at 14,742
Topix up +0.29% at 1,219
Hang Seng up +1.67% at 23,503
Shanghai Composite up +0.29% at 2,192
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.03% at 471.88
CNX Nifty down -1.69% at 6,012 Currencies
€/$ 1.35 (1.35)
$/¥ 99.37 (99.43) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.49 at 109.25
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.33 at 106.06
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,369 | 
