Cryptocurrencies, digital tax top agenda for G-7 meeting

Five-day winning streak ends as indexes dip

Stocks ended a five-day winning streak on Tuesday as investors cautiously assessed the first big round of corporate earnings reports.

Major indexes were mixed for much of the morning and turned lower at midday after President Donald Trump said: “We have a long way to go on tariffs with China.”

The S&P 500 fell 10.26 points, or 0.3%, to 3,004.04.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 23.53 points, or 0.1%, to 27,335.63. The Nasdaq composite fell 35.39 points, or 0.4%, to 8,222.80.

Retail sales up 0.4% in June for 4th straight rise

U.S. retail sales rose at a solid pace last month, providing crucial support to the economy at a time when other drivers of growth have faded.

The Commerce Department said Tuesday that retail sales rose 0.4% in June, the fourth straight increase. Sales at online retailers, grocery stores, home and garden stores, restaurants and bars all increased at a healthy pace.

Steady hiring and modest wage increases, along with low interest rates, have helped fuel greater spending. Sales at auto dealers rose 0.8% in June, the government said.

US industrial production unchanged in June

U.S. industrial production was flat in June, as a slump in utilities was offset by gains in output by factories and mining.

The Federal Reserve said Tuesday that manufacturing production increased 0.4% last month, aided by a nearly 3% surge at auto plants. Still, factory output has been weak over the past 12 months, posting a modest gain of just 0.4%. The manufacturing sector has faced challenges because of President Donald Trump’s tariffs against China and the retaliatory taxes imposed by that country.

Production at the nation’s utilities fell 3.6%, as a milder-than-usual June led to less demand for air conditioning. Production at mines, a sector that also covers oil and gas drilling, advanced a modest 0.2%.

Capacity utilization fell in June to 77.9% from 78.1% in May.

Company wants to mine at edge of protected Okefenokee Swamp

A company is seeking permits to mine minerals near the edge of the Okefenokee Swamp, a vast and unspoiled wilderness that’s home to the largest national wildlife refuge in the eastern U.S.

The Army Corps of Engineers issued a public notice Friday that Twin Pines Minerals LLC of Birmingham, Alabama, wants to mine titanium dioxide less than 4 miles from the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge near the Georgiaflorida state line.

Twin Pines Minerals President Steve Ingle said his company’s plan is “more environmentally friendly and efficient” than a similar proposal from Dupont in the 1990s that drew staunch opposition.

Finance officials from the Group of Seven rich democracies will weigh risks from new digital currencies and debate how to tax tech companies like Google and Amazon when they meet this week in the Paris suburb of Chantilly.

Those two issues, raised by the impact of digitalization on the world economy, are at the top of the agenda for the gathering Wednesday and Thursday. It will be hosted by French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire and include U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin.

Hanging over the ministers as they hold a working dinner Wednesday in the chateau at Chantilly: slowing global growth and the America-first trade policies of U.S. President Donald Trump.