Flash crash trader charged, Petrobras's $17bn hit, Facebook empire-building costs

A British futures trader who was arrested for allegedly contributing to the 2010 "flash crash" began his fight against extradition on Wednesday as US lawmakers pledged to investigate a case that raises questions over the fragility of markets and financial regulation. (FT)

Navinder Singh Sarao has been charged in Chicago with wire fraud, commodities fraud, commodities manipulation and "spoofing", and will face trial if he is extradited. But blaming a solitary trader for the crash is disingenuous: it's like blaming a flea on an elephant's rump for a stampede, says the FT.

In the news

Clinton link to Russia uranium deals As the Russian atomic energy agency took charge of a company that controls one-fifth of all uranium production capacity in the US, a stream of cash made its way to former president Bill Clinton's charitable organisation. (NYT)

Brazil's Petrobras takes $17bn hit The 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. It released long-delayed audited financial statements for 2014 late on Wednesday, narrowly avoiding a late filing that could have set it on course for a technical default on some of its $137bn in debt. (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 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)

EU considers boosting Med patrols When EU leaders meet in Brussels today for a hastily called summit to address the migrant drownings in the Mediterranean, the most concrete "deliverable" is likely to be a pledge to "at least" double resources to the bloc's two maritime operations along Europe's southern coast. (brusselsblog)

Facebook's costly empire-building Investments in building its empire have pushed costs up 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)

Pentagon to open Silicon Valley office The Pentagon plans to open its first office in Silicon Valley in an effort to tap commercial technology to develop more advanced weapons and intelligence systems. (defenseone)

North Korea 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)

It's a big day for

Amazon Web Services Details of AWS financials will be revealed today in an unusual move for a company known for being tight-lipped. The numbers are expected to show how quickly revenue has increased, and how deeply Amazon has been supporting the capital-intensive business of building the data centres behind AWS. Listen to our podcast on Amazon's pioneering cloud computing business. (FT)

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 Bank, arguing that Europe needs a global champion to compete with Wall Street's "bulge bracket" investment banks. (FT)

Food for thought

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 next month to reveal the bank's latest strategy. What does the future hold for Europe's largest bank? (FT)

Three tests all the UK parties flunk Restoring productivity growth should be at the centre of their election campaigns, says Chris Giles. (FT)

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, tangas - 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 buoyantJapan'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.

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