Greece latest, the practicalities of VR, and dinosaur ‘Easter eggs’

The daily briefing “FirstFT” from the Financial Times.

Relations between Greece and its creditors continue to deteriorate, with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras accusing creditors of “pillaging” the country for the past five years and vowing not to give in to their demands.

The collapse of the latest talks prompted a sharp sell-off across debt markets of southern eurozone countries and Greece’s stock market fell sharply. The possibility of default also weighed on equity markets in Asia this morning.

Mr Tsipras says he is now waiting for a new proposal after Greek plans were rejected out of hand. You can read the proposals here – the revenue-raising measures include a crackdown on fuel smuggling and the installation of 35,000 video gaming terminals. Until they are installed here are the four games the Greeks may be playing. Whichever one it is, Gideon Rachman thinks it is no more sophisticated than the game of “chicken” in Rebel Without a Cause. Spoiler alert: it ends poorly for one of the two parties involved.

But does it have to? Some economists are wondering whether there is a third way that involves creating a parallel currency that would let Athens remain in the monetary union without having to raise taxes and cut spending bills. (FT)

In the news

Hank Greenberg’s pyrrhic victory A judge ruled in favour of the former chief executive and largest shareholder of AIG in his lawsuit against the US government over the terms of its bailout in 2008. Judge Thomas Wheeler said the government had acted unlawfully when it seized nearly 80 per cent of the ailing insurance group in exchange for a $182bn rescue package but he awarded no damages, noting that “if not for the government’s intervention, AIG would have filed for bankruptcy…[and] shareholders would most likely have lost 100 per cent of their stock value”. (FT)

Anthem approaches Cigna The latest takeover bid of about $175 a share marks the latest major consolidation move in the US health-insurance industry. Cigna has rebuffed the offer, which values it at $45bn and would stop a possible tie-up between it and smaller insurer Humana. (FT)

Jeb Bush enters fray The former Florida governor declared his candidacy for the office once held by his father and his brother, promising to aim for 4 per cent growth. Many are scepticalof this goal – but not Alphaville. (FT, NYT)

Closing the Gap The clothing store plans to close a quarter of its North American stores as part of the second big round of cuts in four years. The chain is shutting up 175 shops as a sales slump and online shopping leave it with too much real estate in undesirable locations. (WSJ)

Belgium sues Facebook The country’s data protection watchdog is taking Facebook to court over how it tracks internet users on external websites through the use of “like” and “share” buttons. The suit came just as the EU approved a draft law that would boost national regulator power over companies such as Facebook. (WSJ)

Goldman disrupts the disrupters Six months ago it was lead underwriter on Lending Club’s IPO – now the Wall Street titan is launching its own web-based business offering loans to consumers and small businesses. Goldman’s research division published a report in March identifying $1.7tn of consumer and small-business loans that could be “served more efficiently through the online lenders”. (FT)

It’s a big day for

Donald Trump As he does every few years, the property tycoon has been toying with a run for president. But this time he’s taken an extra step, and will reportedly release details of his assets – a topic of debate among those who question whether he is actually as wealthy as he claims – declaring $9bn in assets. (WaPo)

Video gaming The E3 convention starts today in Los Angeles and virtual reality is the hot topic. Microsoft yesterday previewed a version of Minecraft for its HoloLens augmented reality headset. Developers are still figuring out the practicalities of using them – which ones make people motion sick and how the technology could make noxious online behaviour more noxious. (Bloomberg, NYT)

Food for thought

Degree skipped, product shipped James Proud skipped university to move to San Francisco as a teenager. Now, less than a year after Kickstarter backers put up $2.4m for his Sense sleep monitor, the 23-year-old is looking further afield with a $40m funding round led by Singapore state investment company Temasek and an aim to take on Fitbit and Jawbone. (FT)

An asset to the state Igor Zyuzin’s Mechel mining and metals group has debts of $7bn but the Kremlin cannot afford to let it collapse. (FT)

Dinosaur ‘Easter eggs’ Here’s nearly every hidden reference in Jurassic World, the blockbuster movie that hauled in more than half a billion dollars at the global box office on its opening weekend – a new record. (AV Club)

Forced exodus New regulations in China, which prevent migrant children from entering the first year at Beijing schools, triggered protests by anguished parents. China is struggling to accommodate the millions of people flowing to its cities despite its national policy of stimulating urbanisation. (FT)

Video of the day

Lawrence Summers: US risks global standing The former US Treasury secretary explains to Martin Sandbu, editor of Free Lunch, how a repudiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership by Congress could reduce American influence in Asia and the world. (FT)

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: A European Union flag is seen next to a Greek flag atop the Greek Ministry of Finance. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis.