beyondbrics

* Opposition calls for boycott as Iran votes

* Russian bank shuts down Iranian embassy accounts

* Turkcell weighs up offer for Vivacom

* Brazil declares new ‘currency war’

* Red Cross says Syria allows access to rebel town after UN’s rights vote

* Beijing diversifies away from US dollar

* BTG to include global depositary receipts in IPO

* Judge ramps up pressure on Kazakh mogul

* Six accused Americans depart from Egypt

* Delhi sells ONGC stake despite glitches

* Markets: up

Opposition calls for boycott as Iran votes
Iran’s polling stations opened on Friday to about 48m eligible voters to elect the next parliament amid calls by pro-democracy opposition groups to boycott the election and deprive the Islamic regime of a show of public legitimacy, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5b4836be-6448-11e1-b50e-00144feabdc0.html

Russian bank shuts down Iranian embassy accounts
A state-controlled Russian bank is closing down the accounts of Iranian embassy staff in Moscow in a step criticised by Ambassador Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi as surrendering to U.S.-led financial sanctions against Tehran, Reuters reports.

http://uk.reuters.com/article/2012/03/02/russia-iran-banks-idUKL5E8E217B20120302

Turkcell weighs up offer for Vivacom
Turkcell, Turkey’s biggest mobile phone company, said it was considering investing in Vivacom, a Bulgarian telecoms operator – but dismissed as “groundless” a report it was poised to make a bid valuing the group at $1.4bn, the FT reports
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/22d37350-63c3-11e1-8762-00144feabdc0.html

Brazil declares new ‘currency war’
Brazil has declared a fresh “currency war” on the US and Europe, extending a tax on foreign borrowings and threatening further capital controls in an effort to protect the country’s struggling manufacturers, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/76d1d4d0-63d0-11e1-8762-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1nYXozFkd

Red Cross says Syria allows access to rebel town after UN’s rights vote
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it had won permission from President Bashar al- Assad’s government to enter a besieged Syrian town, hours after the United Nations Human Rights Council deplored “systematic violations of human rights,” Bloomberg reports.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-03-01/assad-prepares-attack-on-rebel-town-as-un-condemns-syrian-forces-violence.html

Beijing diversifies away from US dollar
Fresh data suggest China is moderating its appetite for investing in US securities, a trend that could mean lower flows of cheap capital from Beijing and a possible rise in borrowing costs across the American economy, the WSJ reports.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203753704577254794068655760.html?mod=WSJINDIA_hpp_LEFTTopWhatNews

BTG to include global depositary receipts in IPO
BTG Pactual will sell global depositary receipts as part of an initial public offering of Latin America’s largest independent investment bank, a move that promises to test investor appetite for Brazilian shares, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/ad75e8f2-63e7-11e1-9686-00144feabdc0.html

Judge ramps up pressure on Kazakh mogul
Mukhtar Ablyazov, a Kazakh oligarch accused of siphoning off $5bn from Kazakhstan bank BTA, which he used to head, has until March 9 to turn himself in and disclose his assets or be prevented from defending fraud claims, the High Court in London has ordered, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/db2f7c70-63bc-11e1-8762-00144feabdc0.html

Six accused Americans depart from Egypt
Six Americans accused of violating Egyptian civil-society laws left the country on Thursday night, effectively ending a diplomatic spat that nearly upended Washington’s relationship with one of its closest security partners in the Middle East, the WSJ reports.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204571404577255431612850416.html

Delhi sells ONGC stake despite glitches
India’s government auctioned a 5 per cent stake in state-run Oil and Natural Gas Corporation on Thursday raising about $2.45bn, but only after a period of confusion in which the sale appeared to be under-subscribed, the FT reports.

http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/0/5e6e7728-63ac-11e1-b85b-00144feabdc0.html

Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index up +0.16% at 1,078

Europe
FTSE up -0.12% at 5,924
RTS down -0.61% at 1,713
Warsaw Wig down -0.05% at 41,511
FTSE 300 Eurotop up +0.15% at 1,088

Americas
DJIA up +0.22% at 12,980
S&P 500 up +0.62% at 1,374
Bovespa up +1.52% at 66,810

Asia
Nikkei 225 up +0.72% at 9,777
Topix up +0.76% at 837.82
Hang Seng up +0.81% at 21,562
Shanghai Composite up +1.43% at 2,461
MSCI Asia ex-Japan up +0.51% at 535.25
S&P CNX Nifty Index up +0.37% at 5,359

Currencies
€/$ 1.32 (1.33)
$/¥ 81.49 (81.08)

Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) down -1.16 at 125.04
Light Crude (Nymex) down -0.72 at 108.12
100 Oz Gold (Comex) down -7.70 at 1,71