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Trump says China trade deal still on after adviser’s remarks

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is tweeting that an initial trade agreement with China is still on after a top White House adviser’s comments seemed to suggest it was over, spooking markets late Monday. Trump tweeted: “The China Trade Deal is fully intact. Hopefully they will continue to live up to the terms of the Agreement!”The Trump administration has been extremely critical of China’s efforts to contain the novel coronavirus early on and the president repeatedly blames China for the pandemic in his remarks, leading to questions about future cooperation in areas such as trade.

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Ex-CEO of Wirecard arrested in scandal over missing billions

BERLIN (AP) — German prosecutors say the former CEO of financial technology company Wirecard has been arrested on suspicion of misrepresenting the firm’s finances. The arrest is part of an accounting scandal that centers on a missing 1.9 billion euros, or $2.1 billion. Markus Braun resigned on Friday after the company disclosed that auditors couldn’t find accounts containing the money. On Monday, Wirecard said it had concluded that the money probably doesn’t exist. Prosecutors said Tuesday that a court issued an arrest warrant shortly afterward and Braun turned himself in on Monday evening. A judge on Tuesday ordered him released on conditions that include a bail of 5 million euros, or $5.7 million.

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More gains for tech as US stocks head for a 3rd monthly gain

NEW YORK (AP) — Technology companies were high on the leaderboard again as Wall Street extended its recent winning streak and headed for its third monthly gain in a row. The S&P 500 added 0.4% Tuesday. Investors have been focusing on the prospects for an economic recovery as more businesses reopen after being shut down due to the coronavirus pandemic. Health care stocks and companies that rely on consumer spending were also among the big gainers, while safe-play sectors like real estate and utilities stocks fell. Bond yields rose, a sign of increasing confidence in the prospects for economic growth.

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US new home sales rise surprisingly strong 16.6% in May

WASHINGTON (AP) — Sales of new homes rose a surprisingly strong 16.6% in May suggesting that the reopening of major parts of the country were giving a boost to the housing market. The Commerce Department reported Tuesday that sales of new single-family homes rose to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 676,000 last month. That was a much better performance than expected. Many economists had forecast that sales would fall in May. The report on new home sales followed a report Monday that sales of existing homes plunged 9.7% in May to an annual rate of 3.91 million, the slowest pace in nearly a decade.

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Pubs, restaurants in England to reopen as virus toll eases

LONDON (AP) — British Prime Minister Boris Johnson says people in England will be able to go to the pub, visit a movie theater, get a haircut or attend a religious service starting July 4. The major loosening of coronavirus lockdown restrictions Johnson announced Tuesday will help thaw a British economy that has been in deep freeze for three month. But gyms, pools, spas, tattoo parlors and some other businesses won’t be allowed to open yet. Some scientists are worried that the government is moving too fast to ease the lockdown and that a track and trace system meant to quickly stamp out any outbreaks is not fully functional. Britain has Europe’s highest toll from the virus, with 42,927 dead.

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Segway, popular with police but not the public, hits brakes

NEW YORK (AP) — Segway says it will end production of its namesake two-wheeled personal transporter, popular with tourists and police officers but perhaps better known for its high-profile crashes. The company, founded in 1999 by inventor Dean Kamen, will retire the Segway PT on July 15. The company said 21 employees will be laid off. In 2017, Segway got into the scooter business just as it took over urban streets all over the world. Although popular with touring companies, the Segway didn’t take off with the public.

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German legal ruling deals Facebook blow in data use

BERLIN (AP) — Facebook’s fight against German regulators was dealt a blow after a top court agreed with antitrust authorities that the company was abusing its dominant market position in its use of users’ data to better target ads. The antitrust authorities last year said Facebook had to stop collecting data and combining it with Facebook users’ accounts without their consent. Facebook appealed that decision, and a court ruled it did not have to comply with the regulations until the case had been decided. But in its decision Tuesday, the Federal Court of Justice in Karlsruhe overturned that decision, saying the company needs to comply.

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The S&P 500 rose 13.43 points, or 0.4%, to 3,131.29. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 131.14 points, or 0.5%, to 26,156.10. The Nasdaq climbed 74.89 points, or 0.7%, to 10,131.37. The Russell 2000 index of small company stocks picked up 5.81 points, or 0.4%, to 1,439.34.