China plans fiscal spending boost - Financial Times (blog)

* China plans fiscal spending boost

* Counting begins in Kenya's election

* China becomes world's top oil importer

* US can pursue Deloitte's China documents

* Hungary revisits controversial constitution plan

* At least 40 Syrian soldiers killed in Iraq

* Repsol sells 5% stake to Temasek for €1bn

* Latvia launches bid to join euro

* Malaysia sends more troops into Borneo

Markets: up

China plans fiscal spending boost
China said it would boost fiscal spending in 2013 in a bid to deliver economic growth of 7.5 per cent for the year, outgoing Premier Wen Jiabao said on Tuesday in remarks prepared for the opening of the country'sannual parliament meetings.
http://on.ft.com/164TVFx

Counting begins in Kenya's election
Delays in the release of Kenya's election results due to technical glitches prompted jitters late on Monday among politicians and stirred memories of 2007 elections, when disputed results triggered a national crisis.
http://on.ft.com/WD0ng4

China becomes world's top oil importer
China has overtaken the US as the world's largest net importer of oil, in a generational shift that will shake up the geopolitics of natural resources.
http://on.ft.com/13zG1vm

US can pursue Deloitte's China documents
The US securities regulator can pursue efforts to obtain certain audit work papers from Deloitte's China unit, a federal judge said on Monday, giving some latitude for the US government to investigate potential misconduct at Chinese companies listed in the US.
http://on.ft.com/164TXxh

Hungary revisits controversial constitution plan
Hungary's government is being accused of renewed attempts to monopolise power as it tries to reinstate a raft of measures from its controversial new constitution last year that European authorities and its own top court had earlier forced it to drop.
http://on.ft.com/YQnsNX

At least 40 Syrian soldiers killed in Iraq
Unidentified gunmen killed at least 40 Syrian soldiers and government employees in Iraq on Monday as they travelled home after fleeing a Syrian rebel advance last week, Iraqi officials said.
http://on.ft.com/XT53yE

Repsol sells 5% stake to Temasek for €1bn
Repsol has sold a 5 per cent stake to Temasek, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund, for €1bn in a move by the Spanish oil group to stabilise its shareholder base following the end of a long-running battle with one time rebel investor Sacyr Vallehermoso.
http://on.ft.com/XT5c5i

Latvia launches bid to join euro
Latvia is set to become the 18th EU member state to join the euro, a clear sign of confidence for the troubled single-currency at time when the future of the monetary union is being threatened by the bloc's economic fragility.
http://on.ft.com/XS0V1W

Malaysia sends more troops into Borneo
A stand-off between Malaysian security forces and a Filipino Muslim group showed signs on Monday of escalating into a serious political problem for each country's government, as Kuala Lumpur sent hundreds more troops into a disputed region of Borneo.
http://on.ft.com/XkUKqt

Emerging Markets
MSCI Emerging Market Index up +0.49% at 1,046

Americas
DJIA up +0.27% at 14,128
S&P 500 up +0.46% at 1,525
Bovespa down -0.68% at 56,499

Asia
Nikkei 225 up +0.43% at 11,702
Topix down -0.35% at 988.82
Hang Seng up +0.04% at 22,548
Shanghai Composite up +1.18% at 2,300
MSCI Asia ex-Japan up +0.61% at 550.24
S&P CNX Nifty Index up +0.57% at 5,731

Currencies
€/$ 1.30 (1.30)
$/¥ 93.07 (93.46)

Commodities
Brent Crude (ICE) up +0.47 at 110.56
Light Crude (Nymex) up +0.20 at 90.32
100 Oz Gold (Comex) up +6.30 at 1,578