Trump ready to complete improbable rise at GOP convention + MORE Jul 17th

Vivian Megenhardt, 9, one of the Circle the City With Love demonstrators, hold hands on the Lorain-Carnegie bridge, Sunday, July 17, 2016, in Cleveland, ahead of the Republican National Convention that starts Monday. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
Cleveland’s chief of police said Sunday barricades have been placed at key streets and intersections in the city’s downtown before the start of the Republican National Convention to thwart the type of attack that occurred in France when a man drove a large truck into crowds, killing 84 people.
“Things that happen around the country and around the world do affect to some degree how we respond here in Cleveland,” Chief Calvin Williams said during an interview on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
There have long been concerns about violent protests and clashes between those who support the presumptive nominee, Donald Trump, and those who oppose the real estate mogul and his inflammatory rhetoric. But recent events, including a terror attack in Nice, France, last week and the fatal ambush of police officers in Dallas have heightened concerns about what might happen in Cleveland during the four-day convention that begins Monday…

Summer travel season is in full swing. As you ponder where to go and what to pack, you may also be considering travel insurance.
The U.S. Travel Insurance Association, an industry group, estimates Americans spent over $2.2 billion in 2014 on all types of travel protection.
While popular with some travellers, it isn’t always necessary, so we talked to experts about when you might (and might not) need it.
WHAT IT IS: Travel insurance is designed to help protect you from financial losses related to your trip, such as the cost of cancelling a vacation because of a death in the family or being airlifted off a mountain because of a skiing accident.
According to the Insurance Information Institute, travel insurance breaks down to three basic types: medical, assistance and trip cancellation, interruption or delay coverage.
The cost is based on the age of the traveller, type of coverage and cost of trip but generally costs about 5 to 7 per cent of the total, according to the institute. A “Cancel for Any Reason” type of policy, which is more comprehensive than a standard policy, usually costs more…

People gather onstage as preparations take place inside Quicken Loans Arena for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, Saturday, July 16, 2016. A year ago, few imagined Donald Trump as a headliner at the Republican National Convention, let alone as its star. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
CLEVELAND — A year ago, few imagined Donald Trump as a headline speaker at the Republican National Convention—let alone as its star.
Maybe only the billionaire New Yorker alone thought he would arrive in Cleveland this week as the GOP’s presumptive nominee for president. There are still some Republicans trying to stop him, but the party’s four-day coronation of its unlikely White House hopeful will complete his rise from real estate mogul to potential leader of the free world.
“It was quite a journey,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said. “Not just what he was able to do in getting more votes than any Republican in the history of our party, but do it with 16 people running…

CALGARY – The largest energy-focused private equity firm in Calgary is ramping up its oilpatch investing pace to take advantage of bargain prices and an expected recovery in oil prices next year.
ARC Financial Corp. has been more active than usual in 2016, fuelled in part by $1.5 billion pledged a year ago to a new investment fund, said co-CEO Lauchlan Currie in a recent interview. ARC has $5.3 billion in investor commitments through eight energy funds and has invested in over 180 companies over the past two decades.
“We are backing a number of early stage private companies that are out looking for acquisitions,” Currie said.
“We just see it as one of the best opportunities in a long time because we’re anticipating a recovery probably into 2017. And we’re capturing high-quality assets that you’re just not normally going to get access to.”
Bruce Edgelow, vice-president of strategic initiatives for ATB Financial, said in a recent interview that commodity price volatility has made it difficult for buyers and sellers to agree on prices over the past two years…

SAN ANTONIO DEL TACHIRA, Venezuela – More than 100,000 Venezuelans, some of whom drove through the night in caravans, crossed into Colombia over the weekend to hunt for food and medicine that are in short supply at home.
It was the second weekend in a row that Venezuela’s socialist government opened the long-closed border with Colombia, and by 6 a.m. Sunday, a line of would-be shoppers snaked through the entire town of San Antonio del Tachira. Some had travelled in chartered buses from cities 10 hours away.
Venezuela’s government closed all crossings a year ago to crack down on smuggling along the 1,378-mile (2,219 kilometre) border. It complained that speculators were causing shortages by buying up subsidized food and gasoline in Venezuela and taking them to Colombia, where they could be sold for far higher prices.
But shortages have continued to mount in Venezuela amid triple-digit inflation, currency controls that have restricted imports and investment and the world oil price slump that caused a collapse in the oil revenues that fund government spending…