Danish terror suspect known to police, Huawei hires former BP chief and the benefits of Silk Road

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

The suspect was shot dead by police following a short gun battle at dawn in the Danish capital. (NYT$)Danish police say the man suspected of twin shootings that left two dead and five wounded in Copenhagen on Saturday was known to police and was linked to gangs – but there is no indication he was a returned fighter from Syria or Iraq. (FT)

In the news

Huawei hires former BP chief Lord Browne will head a UK board of directors overseeing the Chinese technology group. It is Huawei’s latest attempt to dispel international concerns over its ownership structure and operations following a 2012 US congressional report about alleged links with the Chinese government.(FT)

Banks hit by cyber attack Russian security company Kaspersky said 100 banks and financial institutions have been hit by one of the most sophisticated cyber attacks to strike the industry. It estimates that the banks have suffered $1bn of losses. (FT)

Japan emerges from recession The world’s third-largest economy grew in the fourth quarter of 2014, but at a pace well below expectations as the economy struggled to gain momentum. Quarter-on-quarter growth was 0.6 per cent compared with economists’ forecasts of 0.9 per cent. (FT)

Rolls-Royce accused in Petrobras scandal The British engineering company allegedly paid bribes via an agent in exchange for a $100m contract. It is the latest foreign company to be dragged into Brazil’s largest corruption scandal.(FT)

Isis fighters claim to have killed 21 Christians Fighters affiliated with the militant group claimed that they had killed up to 21 Egyptian Coptic Christiansthey were holding in Libya. Video footage posted to the internet purported to show black-masked Isis fighters beheading at least a dozen men. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Eurozone finance ministers who meet in Brussels today in the apparently Sisyphean task of establishing to try to find common ground with the new Greek government, recently elected on its pledge to scrap the austerity strictures of Greece’s international bailouts. (Reuters)

Chinese tourists in the UK who will be able to use more understandable names for British tourism destinations when they visit. The UK tourism agency is giving its destinations Chinese names as part of an effort to lure more high-spending Chinese visitors. Savile Row will be made over as “Tall, Rich, Handsome Street” while Scotland’s Highland Games will become the “Strongman Skirt Party”. (FT)

Food for thought

An Oxford university report has assessed the probability of an apocalypse. “Putting the risk of extinction below 5 per cent would be wildly overconfident,” says Stuart Armstrong of the Future of Humanity Institute. (FT)

The safety of Silk Road Aaron Sankin examines whether there is an argument to be made that Silk Road and similar online black markets make the world safer by decreasing the level of violence associated with the drug trade. (The Kernel)

Ukrainian hearts and minds Kiev’s choice to cut off state financial support for rebel areas has disproportionately targeted the elderly, poor and vulnerable. Meanwhile rebel officials are trying to translate communal wartime spirit into support for their cause: schools devote time each week to “political information lessons” for celebrating famous rebel warlords. (BuzzFeed)

The market for corporate debt from emerging markets has seen explosive growth as investors hunt for higher yields but signs of distress are appearing as growth slows in China and Brazil. (FT)

Video of the day

Corruption pays Lex’s Oliver Ralph and Robert Armstrong ask if it is time to consider corruption as an asset class worth the risk. (FT)

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

To keep up with the Agenda subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

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 European Union (E.U.) flag (front) and a Greek flag flutter in front of the monument of Parthenon on Acropolis hill in Athens. REUTERS/John Kolesidis