Friday newspaper round-up: Elon Musk, Metro Bank, Mike Lynch

Elon Musk is under investigation by the US Securities and Exchange Commission over his $44bn takeover of social media giant Twitter, it was revealed on Thursday. The investigation concerns whether Musk broke federal securities laws in 2022 when he bought stock in Twitter, which he later renamed X, as well as statements and SEC filings he made about the deal. – Guardian

Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto fraud trial gained steam on Thursday when the co-founder of his fallen exchange, Gary Wang, took the stand as a government witness in Manhattan federal court. His testimony came as the highly anticipated trial entered its third day. Bankman-Fried faces seven counts on fraud and conspiracy charges in relation to the implosion of his crypto exchange FTX and its related hedge fund, Alameda Research. – Guardian

Jeremy Hunt must not let Britain’s spending watchdog dictate tax policy, a leading think tank has warned. The Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) said the Chancellor should not be bound by the Office for Budget Responsibility’s (OBR) “short-run” forecasts about the cost of the Government’s flagship business investment tax break. – Telegraph

The Bank of England is closely monitoring depositors’ behaviour at Metro Bank for any sign of panic after reports that the lender is trying to raise up to £600 million to shore up a potentially shaky balance sheet. Robert Sharpe, Metro’s chairman, was due to meet senior officials at the Bank’s Prudential Regulation Authority yesterday for a previously scheduled meeting. Analysts said the Bank would be asking for daily, it not hourly, reports on flows, especially as Metro suffered sharp outflows in 2019 after an earlier spell of jitters about its financial strength. – The Times

Mike Lynch, the technology entrepreneur once regarded as a British Bill Gates, is trying to have criminal charges against him dropped in the United States. In May, after a long-running battle, Lynch was extradited to face fraud allegations over Hewlett-Packard’s $11 billion acquisition in 2011 of Autonomy, the software company he founded. – The Times