Clinton makes history, downward mobility and nasty tricks on the web

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Hillary Clinton claimed the Democratic nomination on Tuesday night, hailing the historic achievement of becoming the first female presidential candidate of a major US party after a gruelling primary battle against Bernie Sanders. Mr Sanders insisted he would “fight on” to the party’s convention in Philadelphia in July, but indicated that his campaign would shift from being primarily about his candidacy to fighting for his campaign’s core issues.

How Mr Sanders acts still matters a great deal to Mrs Clinton, writes Ed Luce. Yet the main focus will not stray long from Donald Trump. “On Tuesday night, he belatedly took the advice of virtually every senior Republican by giving a centrist speech that eschewed his usual name-calling. He even used a teleprompter to read lines clearly supplied by others. The question is whether Mr Trump can stick to his new course, or whether he will keep getting the better of himself when there is no teleprompter to restrain him.” (FT)

In the news

Saudi considers taxing foreign expats Saudi Arabia is considering imposing income tax on foreign residents, finance minister Ibrahim al-Assaf said, as the cash-strapped kingdom seeks to raise non-oil revenues and cut spending to fund its $72bn plan to diversify the economy. A move to tax the one-third of residents who are non-Saudis would raise a significant amount of non-oil revenue for the government, but could also make hiring expatriates more difficult. The Gulf’s income tax-free status is a key element in attracting foreigners to the region. (FT)

Amazon raises India stake Amazon has revealed plans to invest $3bn in its Indian subsidiary, doubling down on a push to establish itself as the leading player in one of the world’s fastest-growing ecommerce markets. Jeff Bezos, chief executive, made the announcement in Washington on Tuesday after being presented with an award by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit partly aimed at encouraging US investment in his country. (FT)

Can’t take the heat? Stay out of the Gulf The UK’s newest and most advanced destroyer warships — each of which cost the taxpayer £1bn — cannot operate in the Gulf because the warm waters cause the engines to break down. “With hindsight it would have been good to do another 4,000-5,000 hours of testing on it,” said one executive responsible for the ships’ engines. (FT)

EU banks face higher capital requirements European banks would have to raise up to €170bn of extra capital or sell almost €500bn of sovereign debt if regulators push ahead with plans to break the “doom loop” tying lenders to their governments, according to new research. Expected changes to regulation could lead to a 30 per cent increase in capital requirements for the main EU banks, according to the research to be published by Fitch, the credit rating agency. (FT)

Singapore blocks internet for public servants Government officials in the island state will be blocked from accessing the internet on work computers from May next year. The move aims to plug “potential leaks from work emails and shared documents amid heightened security threats”, the Straits Times newspaper said. Officials said employees across government would also be barred from forwarding any work-related information to personal emails. (BBC)

The FT Festival of Finance

Mikhail Khodorkovsky talks to Lionel Barber The former head of Yukos and an early supporter of democratic change in Russia will be interviewed live at the FT’s Festival of Finance, in London on July 1. Mikhail Khodorkovsky will be reflecting on his experience of the Putin years and outlining his alternative vision for his country. The Festival, an expansion of the hugely popular Camp Alphaville, will feature more than 100 speakers and panellists across six stages. Tickets are available here.

It’s a big day for

Alphabet The parent company of Google holds its annual meeting amid questions surrounding the departure of Tony Fadell, chief executive of its Nest product. (The Verge)

Executive pay Investors are set to vote on the remuneration of Sir Martin Sorrell — the highest-paid chief executive of a FTSE 100 company — in a move expected to put executive pay reform back in the spotlight. (FT)

Food for thought

Rich child, poor child Global growth has slowed sharply since the financial crisis and there is evidence that the latest generation may not be richer than their parents. If “room at the top” is no longer growing, social mobility starts to look more like that zero-sum game, in which upward mobility requires downward mobility too, writes Sarah O’Connor. (FT)

Painful choices still face Greece Martin Wolf on why Athens isn’t out of the woods yet — and the difficult decisions that must be made for it to become a successful, self-financing economy within the eurozone. (FT)

Internet’s ‘nasty tricks’ exposed Ever signed up for something online and then found it very difficult to unsubscribe? Then you’ve been to a roach motel — one of many web design tricks employed by some firms to drum up more trade. London-based user experience consultant Harry Brignull coined the phrase “dark patterns” to describe “a user interface that has been carefully crafted to trick users into doing things”. His website contains a library of the sort of tricks employed by websites great and small, submitted by readers. (BBC)

Battlefield victories cannot defeat Isis Hundreds of thousands of Sunni Muslims in the Middle East are trapped between tyranny and terror, the sectarianism of Damascus and Baghdad or the savagery of the Isis brand of Sunni supremacism, writes David Gardner. “And that is to oversimplify. What exists is a crazy kaleidoscope of colliding and recombining microcosms across a shape-changing battlefield, with no overarching political narrative that might change this. That spells defeat insofar as any attempt to eliminate the threat of Isis requires a strategy to mobilise, secure and turn Arab Sunni sentiment against it.” (FT)

Video of the day

Mexico suffers the Trump effect The FT’s Dan McCrum explains how the US Republican nominee might be responsible for some of Mexico’s negative economic indicators. (FT)