Gas competition, Chinese real estate and IMF takeaways

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Gazprom is next in the pipeline for Margrethe Vestager, the EU’s competition chief. She plans to accuse the Russian energy company of illegally abusing its dominant position in Europe’s gas market by thwarting competition and pushing up prices in central and eastern Europe. (FT)

Charges have been ready since the end of 2013 but the case was delayed by the Ukraine crisis. The FT looks at how the case, which could inflame already difficult relations with Moscow, began with Europe’s biggest ever antitrust raid in September 2011.

In the news

UK regulators challenge US over Berkshire Hathaway The Bank of England has written to the US Treasury to ask why Berkshire’s reinsurance operation – one of the world’s most powerful – was left off a provisional list of “too big to fail” institutions by the Financial Stability Board. Nine insurers, including AIG of the US, Germany’s Allianz and UK-based Prudential, have been put into the “systemically important” category that could mean higher capital requirements but reinsurers have not been included. (FT)

Chinese developer default Kaisa Group Holdings is the first Chinese real estate company to default on its overseas debt, which stands at around $2.5bn. It missed two interest paymentson dollar-denominated bonds and failed to pay up even after a 30-day grace period. (FT, Bloomberg)

Investors go to the circus TPG Capital and Chinese conglomerate Fosun bought Cirque du Soleil in a deal valuing the circus and entertainment company at $1.5bn. Cirque du Soleil said the deal would give it greater access to the Chinese market. Fosun has been expanding its leisure portfolio with its 5 per cent stake in Thomas Cook and its acquisition of Club Med. (FT)

Up to 1m waiting to cross to Europe Between 500,000 and 1m Syrians and sub-Saharans are waiting in Libya to make the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean. European ministers said they would step up efforts to crack down on people-trafficking after hundreds died attempting the crossing over the weekend but they are still up against the civil war in Libya, which has left the country in chaos, and an enormous smuggling network. (FT)

Zulu king condemns South Africa immigrant attacks Goodwill Zwelithini called for an end to attacks and South Africa’s leaders rallied to halt xenophobic violence after attacks on foreigners led to seven deaths and thousands fleeing their homes. South Africa is estimated to be home to up to 5m immigrants, many from poorer neighbouring countries. (FT)

It’s a big day for

First-quarter results Credit Suisse will present its last earnings under chief executive Brady Dougan and investors will be watching keenly for hints about the bank’s direction under Tidjane Thiam, who takes over in June. Sky’s earnings will be examined to see whether it can maintain the strong growth shown at the end of 2014. Its shares have risen more than 10 per cent since it spent £4.2bn on Premier League rights. (FT)

Food for thought

1.5m missing black men In the US, for every 100 black women aged 25-54 and not in jail, there are only 83 black men – a gap that barely exists among whites. This means more thanone out of every six black men has “disappeared” from daily life either through incarceration or death. The city with the greatest proportion of missing black men is Ferguson, Missouri. (NYT)

Voting Tory is the new punk Janan Ganesh says the Conservative party’s image has become so noxious in the UK that supporting it has become “a transgressive act, like being a punk or emo”. (FT)

Less is more? Changing tastes have taken the sparkle out of Coca-Cola’s core brand. The FT examines whether its new cost-cutting strategy will succeed.

Pulitzer Prize ploy This year’s Pulitzer Prize winners are out but Jack Shafer reckons it’s all a bit of a scam. The winners may be bathed in glory but not in riches – one of this year’s winners left journalism because it was too difficult to make ends meet. (NYT, Politico, Slate)

Boston marathonLelisa Desisa returned to win for a second time. He won in 2013, two hours before bombs ripped through the finish area, and presented his medal back to the city as a tribute to the victims. (NYT)

An American walks into a bar in China… Comedian Des Bishop learnt Mandarin and took his stand-up show to China. The BBC documents his efforts and his discovery that younger audiences are looking for more new and challenging forms of comedy.

Video of the day

Takeaways from the IMF The FT discusses the big issues concerning attendees at the spring meeting from the balance of macroeconomic and financial risks to Greece uniting the eurogroup with its bad behaviour.

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: Excess natural gas is being flared, or burnt off, at a flare stack. REUTERS/Henry Romero.