Clinton close to victory, John Oliver’s $15m giveaway and rage and the entrepreneur

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Hillary Clinton has clinched the Democratic party nomination for US president after reaching the required number of delegates, according to AP. Mrs Clinton acknowledged the report, but said “we still have work to do” as she encouraged her supporters to get out and vote.

The AP report, based partly on the number of superdelegates who have pledged to back Mrs Clinton, came on the eve of Tuesday’s primaries in California, New Jersey, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota and South Dakota — a night expected to formally anoint Mrs Clinton as the party’s presumptive candidate.

Almost immediately, Bernie Sanders rushed to dispute the AP’s announcement, saying he hadn’t lost yet because the superdelegates could change their minds at any point up to the convention. This leads Vox’s Jeff Stein to conclude that “if she wants Sanders’ fans to believe she’s the legitimate Democratic nominee, her campaign may want to cite the voters first and foremost in declaring final victory”.(FT, Vox)

In the news

Rubio slams Trump over Curiel comments Marco Rubio has sharply criticised his formal rival and presumptive GOP nominee Donald Trump over comments made by the billionaire about the judge presiding over Trump University lawsuits. “It’s offensive — he should stop saying it,” Mr Rubio said of Judge Gonzalo Curiel. “He’s wrong. The judge is an American.”(CBSNews)

Lancôme accused of caving in to Beijing The luxury skincare brand owned by L’Oréal, has been accused of bowing to Chinese political pressure after it dropped a Hong Kong singer from a local marketing campaign following an outcry in Chinese state media. Denise Ho, an outspoken performer who took part in Hong Kong’s Occupy protests in 2014 and this year posted pictures of herself with the Dalai Lama, had been due to perform at a promotional event later this month. (FT)

Peru vote hangs by a thread Economist Pedro Pablo Kuczynski continues to hold a narrow lead over Keiko Fujimori, daughter of a jailed former president. With 96.13 per cent of ballots counted, he had won 50.14 per cent, with Ms Fujimori on 49.85 per cent. In an election where 17m Peruvians cast ballots, Mr Kuczynski’s lead was less than 50,000 votes. But given the remoteness of some parts of Peru, as well as votes coming from overseas, the final result could be delayed until later this week. (FT)

Ransomware rising at ‘alarming rate’ There are now more than 120 separate families of the malicious software that scrambles the data on a victim’s PC and then asks for payment before restoring the data to its original state, say experts. Researchers report a 3,500 per cent rise in the criminal use of web infrastructure that helps run the software. The rise is driven by the money thieves make with ransomware and the increase in kits that help them snare victims. (BBC)

Ukraine thwarts football terror plot Kiev has claimed to have foiled a terrorist plot tied to the upcoming Euro 2016 championship in France by arresting a French national seeking heavy weapons and explosives in the country’s war-torn eastern regions. (FT)

It’s a big day for

European carmakers The EU is facing calls from Berlin to tighten the ban on cheating in car emissions tests after revelations that manufacturers other than Volkswagen have been installing defeat devices in their vehicles without necessarily breaking the law. (FT)

Food for thought

Tech hype meets reality We stand on the brink of a brave new era that will usher in unmatched technological progress and economic abundance, say futurologists. All we have to do is decide how best to manage the social disruption caused by this revolution and allocate the fruits of this unprecedented growth. The trouble is that the present does not appear to have received that memo, writes John Thornhill. (FT)

Rage and the entrepreneur Rage can be a wonderful motivator, writes Margaret Hefernan. All aspiring business owners have spent time hovering on the edge of their idea, keen to get started but reluctant to let go of whatever security they might have. What pushes them over the edge is rage. Another meeting where they are not heard; another random revenue target; another failure to innovate. “For no group is this more typical than women.” (FT)

John Oliver’s $15m debt giveaway Would you rather spend 20 minutes reading about the hazards of predatory debt collection, or spend 20 minutes watching someone forgive millions of dollars in debt, complete with a giveaway that professed to put Oprah Winfrey’s famous “You Get a Car!” gimmick to shame? If you chose Option B, you are the target audience for John Oliver’s “Last Week Tonight”, a show that understands that the best way to convey vital information in an age marked by attention deficit is to wrap it up in spectacle. (NYT)

Live like a billionaire . . . on the cheap A life of luxury need not break the bank. Want to stay on a yacht? There is an Airbnb-like website for that. Fancy owning an island? Easily done for less than the price of a small London home. (Guardian)

Fed may reintroduce QE, says Bill Gross Stagnant demand and poorly directed investment are likely to push central banks to continue with quantitative easing for the long term and could even lead the US to reintroduce its own easing programme, former Pimco chief investment officer Bill Gross tells the Nikkei Asian Review. (NAR)

Video of the day

China’s Wanda starts theme park war with Disney Wang Jianlin, chairman of the Dalian Wanda Group, is hoping his $3bn investment in Wanda City will win over China’s booming middle class. The FT’s Yuan Yang reports. (FT)