The flash crash probe, running into old age and horse-drawn taxis

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

A British futures trader who was arrested for allegedly contributing to the 2010 “flash crash” began his fight against extradition on Wednesday. Navinder Singh Sarao, a 36-year old British citizen who was operating through a company based at his parents’ house in a London suburb, was arrested at the request of US authorities and is accused of contributing to the crash. (FT)

He has been charged in Chicago with wire fraud, commodities fraud, commodities manipulation and “spoofing”, and will face trial if he is extradited. He was granted bail of £5m. (FT)

In the news

HSBC: Shrink and simplify After being hit with tens of billions of dollars of losses from US subprime mortgages, a $1.9bn fine for financing Mexican drug cartels and an admission of facilitating tax evasion and aggressive tax avoidance for clients, chief executive Stuart Gulliver is poised to reveal the bank’s latest strategy . What does the future hold for Europe’s largest bank? (FT)

Setback for Comcast-TWC merger Federal Communications Commission staff recommended that the regulatory agency designate Comcast’s proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable for a hearing, according to people familiar with the matter – a significant blow for the companies’ merger plans. (WSJ)

Gazprom antitrust case Already chilly ties between the EU and Russia have turned icy cold, with years of worsening relations culminating yesterday in formal accusations that the state-controlled gas group abused its market position – but the antitrust case is unlikely to wreck a collaboration built on need. The FT’s Alex Barker looks at the European Commission’s arguments, and the chances of a settlement. (FT)

The face of an empire Facebook’s investments in building out its empire beyond its original social network have pushed costs up by more than 80 per cent year-on-year, squeezing margins in the first quarter. Revenue of $3.5bn for the first three months of 2015 was lower than the consensus forecast for $3.6bn, but 42 per cent higher than in the same period the year before. (FT)

North Korean nuclear threat Chinese experts say Pyongyang has an atomic weapons arsenal of 20 warheads, far more than previous US estimates – and they believe the nation may be capable of doubling its stockpile by next year (WSJ)

Brazil’s Petrobras takes $17bn hit The embattled state-owned oil company has estimated its losses from corruption at R$6.2bn (US$2.1bn) and taken a R$44.6bn impairment charge, as it struggles to emerge from the nation’s biggest political bribery case. Petrobras released long-delayed audited financial statements for 2014 late on Wednesday, narrowly meeting an end-April deadline. A late filing could have set it on course for a technical default on some of its $137bn in debt. (FT)

It’a a big day for

John McFarlane Barclays’ new chairman will stamp his authority on the bank by writing to shareholders to outline his priorities on the day he succeeds Sir David Walker. The former chairman of Aviva, who engineered a rapid rebound at the insurer after taking charge during a crisis in 2013, is known by former colleagues as a hands-on and determined leader (FT)

Deutsche Bank Authorities in the US and UK are expected to announce a settlement with the German bank over its alleged manipulation of Libor, the benchmark interbank lending rate. Meanwhile, the FT’s John Gapper writes in praise of Deutsche, arguing that Europe needs a global champion to compete with Wall Street’s “bulge bracket” investment banks. (FT)

Food for thought

Running Into Old Age A growing number of seniors are completing marathons and triathlons, shedding new light on how exercise affects the elderly body. (The Atlantic)

Delhi’s Horse-Drawn Taxi Drivers In India, where the modern and ancient collide all day long, tongas – horse-drawn taxis – manage to stay relevant thanks to simple economics. In an intensely price-sensitive market, they’re cheaper to ride than the bicycle rickshaws. (WSJ)

Tesla misnomer Elon Musk’s company is admired for building the cars of the future. But it is not really a car company. It is a battery company that happens to make electric cars – at least that’s the trajectory suggested by the news that Tesla will soon sell mega-batteries for homes and electric utility companies. (Wired)

Video of the day

Nikkei buoyant Japan’s Nikkei 225 index passed 20,000 for the first time in more than a decade. John Authers explains how changes in corporate behaviour have helped Abenomics recover almost all of the ground it had lost with investors.

This article is published in collaboration with The Financial Times. Publication does not imply endorsement of views by the World Economic Forum.

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Author: FirstFT is the Financial Times’ editors curated free daily email of the top global stories from the FT and the best of the rest of the web.

Image: A man looks at a stock quotation board outside a brokerage in Tokyo May 11, 2012. REUTERS/Toru Hanai/