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By Vidya Ranganathan SINGAPORE (Reuters) - There is a new gold rush in the Asia-Pacific: rising incomes and consumer spending by Asia's fast-growing middle classes that is generating unprecedented opportunities for multinational firms. If western firms recognise those opportunities in markets for consumer and luxury goods, travel and other services, their strategies will increasingly shift towards building commercial ties with Asia, says Rajiv Biswas, the Asia-Pacific chief economist for IHS Global Insight. ...

Reuters Market Eye - Tata Steel Ltd may miss January-March profit consensus forecasts when it reports results on Thursday, according to Thomson Reuters StarMine data. StarMine's SmartEstimates, which places greater emphasis on forecasts by top-rated analysts, expects Tata Steel to report a profit of 3.34 billion rupees for the quarter compared with a wider consensus mean estimate of 3.64 billion rupees. Shares in Tata Steel are up 1.35 percent at 11.13 a.m. (Reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi)

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - There is no case for downgrading India's sovereign credit rating, Economic Affairs Secretary Arvind Mayaram told the news channel ET Now on Monday, after Standard & Poor's reiterated its negative outlook on the country's credit rating. The rating agency last week warned that India needed to follow through on implementing a slew of pending economic reforms, a warning that dealt a blow to a government that had recently pitched for an upgrade. ...

Reuters Market Eye -India will sell 55.33 billion rupees worth of government debt limits to overseas investors later on Monday, the first after the country cut the debt withholding tax for foreign investors last month. These quotas give foreign investors the right to invest in debt up to the limit bought. India cut tax rates for foreign investors on interest income from investments in government and corporate debt to 5 percent from 20 percent, hoping to attract more funding to bridge its current account deficit and polish its reformist credentials. ...

Reuters Market Eye - Shares in Lupin Ltd slump 4 percent after earlier falling as much as 4.7 percent following the launch of rival Mylan Inc's generic version of the cholesterol-lowering Tricor tablets. Mylan Inc said in a statement on Friday its unit Mylan Pharmaceuticals Inc has shipped generic Tricor, or fenofibrate tablets, of 48 mg and 145 mg. Mylan compete against Lupin, which also sells generic versions of Tricor. "Mylan's launch of Tricor will result in higher competition and decline in Lupin's market share in a drug which has a market size of $1. ...

Reuters Market Eye - The BSE Sensex gains 0.71 percent while the broader Nifty advances 0.63 percent, after earlier marking their new 2-1/2-year intraday highs, as foreign portfolio investors extend their record buying spree. Foreign investors have been net buyers for 22 consecutive sessions as of Friday, bringing in a net of about $13.52 billion in 2013, regulatory and exchange data shows. Asian stock markets edge higher after U.S. equities hit record closing highs on Friday as encouraging economic data prompted investors to buy into growth companies. ITC Ltd gains 1. ...

By A. Ananthalakshmi SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold fell for an eighth straight session on Monday to its weakest level in over a month, as fears that the U.S. Federal Reserve may wind back its economic stimulus programme hurt the metal's appeal as a hedge against inflation. Investors have been dumping gold, which is down 20 percent so far this year, as stocks and the dollar continue to outperform. If gold closes in the red on Monday, it would match the metal's longest losing streak since March 2009. ...

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Infosys Ltd, India's No. 2 software services exporter, said on Monday it would challenge a 5.77 billion rupees income tax demand raised by Indian authorities earlier this month. The demand relates to certain tax benefits on income from software development done overseas at the clients' location and revenue from special economic zones in India, Infosys said in a statement. It said the latest tax demand disregards a clarification by the government in January. ...

By Frank Jack Daniel NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang on Sunday a recent military standoff in the Himalayas could affect relations between the two countries as they looked to boost bilateral trade. At a meeting shortly after Li arrived in India on his first foreign trip, Singh said relations were affected when "peace and tranquillity" on the border was impacted, a senior government official with knowledge of the discussions told Reuters. ...

Reuters Market Eye - The rupee trading close to 55 levels despite gains in the domestic sharemarket. The rupee is trading at 54.99/55.00 versus its close of 54.88/89. The rupee fell to as low as 55.07 in opening trade, its lowest since March 4. Domestic shares trading up 0.8 percent tracking firm Asian indices. Traders say good dollar buying is likely at 54.95 levels while 55.15 is expected to cap the upside. "If 55.15 is broken convincingly, we could see it move upto 55.40-50 levels but until then it is safe to play the 54.50 to 55.15 range," said a senior dealer with a foreign bank. ...

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - Cricket hero Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf party won a revote in an upmarket constituency of Karachi on Sunday, unofficial results showed, a day after gunmen killed a party leader, setting the stage for protests and counter-protests. Khan blamed the killing of Zara Shahid Hussain on the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM) party, which has a stranglehold on the city. Furious MQM leaders denied responsibility, condemned the killing and demanded a retraction from Khan. ...

By Stanley White TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan risks missing, yet again, an opportunity to use foreign investment to help fuel sustained economic growth that has eluded it for the last two decades. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to make Japan "the world's easiest country for companies to do business in" as part of his economic revival plan, which so far has been largely met with approval. The stock market has rallied 45 percent this year and Abe's approval ratings are around 70 percent. ...

By Masayuki Kitano SINGAPORE (Reuters) - The yen edged higher on Monday after Japan's economics minister said further weakness in the yen could harm households, while Asian shares rose in response to U.S. equities rallying on upbeat economic data. The dollar fell to as low as 102.00 yen earlier on Monday, pulling away from Friday's high of 103.32 yen, the greenback's highest level versus the yen since October 2008. The dollar later pared some of its losses, and last stood at 102.69 yen, down 0.5 percent on the day. ...