beyondbrics

* Telefonica sets modest targets as 2011 profit halves

* Russia: GDP slows just before polls

* Gold traders in India stay away from new deals

* Blueprint for China to open up markets

* Gates attacks ‘outdated’ UN food agencies

* Meeting tests unity of Syria opposition

* India said to propose BRICS bank to finance developing nations’ projects

* Kofi Annan named UN troubleshooter to Syria

* Vitro sued by US bank seeking $311m from unpaid notes

* Ukraine opens shale gas reserves to exploration

* Markets: up

Telefonica sets modest targets as 2011 profit halves
Telefonica was more cautious about its growth prospects in the year ahead after restructuring costs and slowing revenues contributed to a halving of the Spanish telecom group’s net profit for 2011, Reuters reports.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/02/24/uk-telefonica-idUKTRE81N0CJ20120224

Russia: GDP slows just before polls
More evidence of an economic slow down in Russia, coming only a few days before the presidential elections on March 4, beyondbrics reports. On Friday, economy minister Elvira Nabiullina was quoted by Interfax news agency saying that GDP growth in January was 3.9 per cent year-on-year,  down from 4 per cent in December and 4.3 per cent in the whole of 2011.  One holiday-oriented month is not on its own of critical significance – but the trend is clear.

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2012/02/24/russia-gdp-slows-just-before-polls/

Gold traders in India stay away from new deals
Gold traders in India, the world’s biggest buyer of bullion, were reluctant to enter the market on Friday as the prices remained elevated, though off their 10 week highs, Reuters reports.

http://in.reuters.com/article/2012/02/24/gold-silver-india-prices-idINDEE81N07P20120224

Blueprint for China to open up markets
China should accelerate the loosening of capital controls, its central bank said, in a report outlining the path to a freely tradeable currency and more open capital markets, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/bd948148-5dfd-11e1-8c87-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1n5BjPMk6

Gates attacks ‘outdated’ UN food agencies
Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder turned philanthropist, has broken a taboo in the development community by publicly accusing UN agencies of allowing infighting and inefficiency to undermine the battle against hunger, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/629f3e52-5e45-11e1-85f6-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1n5BjPMk6

Meeting tests unity of Syria opposition
The Arab League, the US and other world powers will discuss the future of Syria at a conference in Tunisia on Friday that is being seen as a test of whether the country’s disparate opposition can begin to forge a united front, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/caf788ec-5e40-11e1-8c87-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1n5BjPMk6

India said to propose BRICS bank to finance developing nations’ projects
India has proposed setting up a multilateral bank that would be exclusively funded by developing nations and finance projects in those countries, two government officials with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-23/india-said-to-propose-brics-bank-to-finance-developing-nations-projects.html

Kofi Annan named UN troubleshooter to Syria
Former United Nations Secretary- General Kofi Annan will be a special envoy to Syria for the UN and the Arab League, seeking to broker peace in a country on the brink of civil war as President Bashar al-Assad wages deadly attacks on civilians, Bloomberg reports.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-23/syrians-troops-shell-homs-on-eve-of-tunisia-talks-to-discuss-ousting-assad.html

Vitro sued by US bank seeking $311m from unpaid notes
Units of Vitro, the Mexican glassmaker that defaulted in 2009, were sued by a trustee for noteholders, which is seeking to recover $311m on unpaid notes, Bloomberg reports.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-23/vitro-units-sued-in-new-york-by-u-s-bank-over-unpaid-notes.html

Ukraine opens shale gas reserves to exploration
Ukraine has become the latest European country to open up its shale gas reserves to exploration, a move that could help to reduce its heavy dependence on increasingly expensive gas imports from its eastern neighbour Russia, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/34cda2d2-5e47-11e1-85f6-00144feabdc0.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1n5BjPMk6

Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index up +0.56% at 1,065

Europe
FTSE up +0.11% at 5,944
RTS up +3.52% at 1,700
Warsaw Wig up +0.85% at 41,609
FTSE 300 Eurotop up +0.29% at 1,078

Americas
DJIA up +0.36% at 12,985
S&P 500 up +0.43% at 1,363
Bovespa down -0.41% at 65,820

Asia
Nikkei 225 up +0.54% at 9,647
Topix up +0.60% at 834.29
Hang Seng up +0.12% at 21,407
Shanghai Composite up +1.25% at 2,440
MSCI Asia ex-Japan up +0.28% at 529.43
S&P CNX Nifty Index down -0.98% at 5,429

Currencies
€/$ 1.34 (1.34)
$/¥ 80.55 (79.96)

Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.05 at 123.67
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.59 at 108.42
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -6.10 at 1,779