| * Loss of US momentum subdues Asia shares * Venezuela grants president decree powers * Ukraine close to gas deal with Slovakia * Sanctions did not get Iran to the table * BP reaches Gulf of Mexico rigs record * China: initial plenum offerings * Negotiators nervously eye China's resistance in IT trade talks * Pakistan's world-class businesses held back by energy crisis * Markets: mixed Loss of US momentum subdues Asia shares
Asia-Pacific bourses were mixed, echoing a loss of momentum in the US market, with Japanese trade data failing to galvanise the Nikkei.
http://on.ft.com/17n6kq3 Venezuela grants president decree powers
Although Maduro said he needed the powers to fix the economy, critics have accused him of amassing power ahead municipal elections
http://on.ft.com/1eheeD7 Ukraine close to gas deal with Slovakia
Brussels intervenes to open Slovak corridor in last-ditch effort to persuade Kiev to sign a pact that would cement closer ties with Europe
http://on.ft.com/1eheceD Sanctions did not get Iran to the table
Tehran first suggested strong measures similar to recent proposals in 2005, long before the current regime was put into place
http://on.ft.com/1eheeDa BP reaches Gulf of Mexico rigs record
The group has brought its fleet in the area to a company record of nine in a sign its recovery from the Deepwater Horizon disaster is gathering pace
http://on.ft.com/1eheeDf China: initial plenum offerings
Reform could lead to healthier stocks but investors may have to wait a bit longer
http://on.ft.com/1ehecuQ Negotiators nervously eye China's resistance in IT trade talks
China is again resisting calls to reduce tariffs on a wide range of IT products it imports, threatening efforts to update the 1996 international agreement that governs the trade in electronic goods.
http://on.ft.com/17I9u4B Pakistan's world-class businesses held back by energy crisis
Last July, Ali Ansari, the chief executive of Engro, a Pakistani conglomerate with interests in fertilisers, energy, petrochemicals, trading and food, got on a plane for the short flight to the capital city of Islamabad from the commercial centre of Karachi.
http://on.ft.com/185HcHd Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index down -0.37% at 1,021 Americas
DJIA down -0.06% at 15,967
S&P 500 down -0.20% at 1,788
Bovespa down -2.35% at 53,033 Asia
Nikkei 225 up +0.04% at 15,133
Topix down -0.25% at 1,234
Hang Seng up +0.33% at 23,737
Shanghai Composite down -0.08% at 2,191
MSCI Asia ex-Japan down -0.25% at 556.21
CNX Nifty down -0.35% at 6,182 Currencies
€/$ 1.36 (1.35)
$/¥ 99.98 (100.13) Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.24 at 107.16
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.25 at 93.59
100 Oz Gold (Comex) unchanged 0.00 at 1,273 | 
