| * Nets owner and sovereign funds eye Uralkali stakes * Alibaba dream over for HK stock exchange * China to boost domestic formula brands * Malaysia Debuts Longest Bonds in Funding Push: Southeast Asia * Latin America is poised for slower growth * India urged to liberalise bond markets * Krispy Kreme to open in Colombia * EU steps up courtship of Ukraine * Budget shows S Korea's economic challenges * Markets: down Nets owner and sovereign funds eye Uralkali stakes
The billionaire owner of the Brooklyn Nets basketball team, Mikhail Prokhorov, and two Asian groups are among potential bidders for stakes in Russian fertiliser group Uralkali as the group's oligarch shareholder prepares to sell out amid a spat with neighbouring Belarus.
http://on.ft.com/16sqiBK Alibaba dream over for HK stock exchange
For the Hong Kong stock exchange the dream of hosting Alibaba's highly anticipated, multibillion-dollar listing has turned into the nightmare of seeing the Chinese internet group turn instead to New York.
http://on.ft.com/15tsym6 China to boost domestic formula brands
China is set to unveil subsidies and other support for five of its dairy companies to develop infant formula brands to compete against the foreign brands that currently dominate the premium end of Asia's largest formula market.
http://on.ft.com/1bHua2E Malaysia Debuts Longest Bonds in Funding Push: Southeast Asia
Malaysia will sell 30-year bonds for the first time in its longest-maturity offering to set a benchmark for companies raising funds under Prime Minister Najib Razak's $444 billion development program.
http://bloom.bg/1h2sHSx Latin America is poised for slower growth
Latin America is poised for one of its slowest economic growth rates in a decade this year, a top official at the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday, as the U.S. signals that its easy-money policies that helped prop up the region could begin to taper off amid a drop in commodity prices. (WSJ)
http://on.wsj.com/190L99p India urged to liberalise bond markets
India should introduce a wholesale liberalisation of rules restricting foreign investors from participating in domestic bond markets, according to a report produced by the country's main financial markets regulator.
http://on.ft.com/16KQ5ix Krispy Kreme to open in Colombia
Krispy Kreme, the US donut maker, said it has signed an agreement with Colombia's IRCC, a subsidiary of the VA! Group, which is the country's leading restaurant operator, to open 25 of its shops over the next five years in cities such as Bogotá, Medellín and Barranquilla – the first deal of its kind in South America.
http://on.ft.com/1fEkTIM EU steps up courtship of Ukraine to wield more influence in east: The EU is stepping up its courtship of Ukraine amid an escalating contest with Russia for influence in eastern Europe. The bloc's goal is to cement closer ties with Ukraine by concluding a political and economic pact, known as an association agreement, at a summit in November that will feature heads of government from a region of Europe where Brussels and Moscow are butting heads.
http://on.ft.com/1dJaGZS Budget shows S Korea's economic challenges
Park Geun-hye's first budget as South Korean president on Thursday underscored the challenge facing her government, as it seeks to meet ambitious campaign spending pledges in the face of a stuttering economy.
http://on.ft.com/16BGXfo Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.31% at 1,004 Europe
FTSE down -0.21% at 6,537
RTS down -0.16% at 1,451
Warsaw Wig up +0.74% at 50,672
FTSE 300 Eurotop down -0.22% at 1,254 Americas
DJIA down -0.40% at 15,273
S&P 500 down -0.27% at 1,693
Bovespa down -0.31% at 54,261 Asia
Nikkei 225 up +1.22% at 14,799
Topix up +0.77% at 1,220
Hang Seng down -0.36% at 23,125
Shanghai Composite down -1.94% at 2,156
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.29% at 466.31
CNX Nifty up +0.14% at 5,882 Currencies
€/$ 1.35 (1.35)
$/¥ 98.54 (98.39) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.36 at 108.68
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.24 at 102.90
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,336 | 
