The daily business briefing: February 23, 2016

1. Home Depot reports strong sales as housing market improves

Home Depot on Tuesday reported quarterly sales that beat Wall Street's expectations. Demand at the home-improvement chain was boosted by the improving housing market. Sales at stores open for more than a year rose by 8.9 percent in the three months ending Jan. 31. Analysts had expected just a 5.3 percent rise. The company also hiked its quarterly dividend by 17 percent. The news sent Home Depot shares rising by 2.6 percent in pre-market trading.

Reuters

2. British business leaders say leaving E.U. would damage economy

Prime Minister David Cameron's push to keep the U.K. from exiting the European Union got a boost Monday when 36 leaders from some of the country's 100 biggest companies signed a letter saying that remaining in the E.U. would benefit the economy. "Business needs unrestricted access to the European market of 500 million people in order to continue to grow, invest, and create jobs," said the letter, published in the Times newspaper's Tuesday edition. A day earlier, London's popular mayor, Boris Johnson, said he would campaign for voting to leave the E.U. in a June referendum.

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Bloomberg

3. Oil prices surge on expectations of slower production, then fall back

Oil prices rose by 6 percent on Monday as investors bet that the world's major oil producers would slow down production. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq all gained around 1.4 percent. Oil prices slipped down by 1 percent early Tuesday, and stock futures edged lower, too, as investors awaited fresh data on the housing market and consumer confidence.

Reuters MarketWatch

4. Report forecasts modest economic growth this year

The annual 2016 Economic Report of the President, released Monday, predicted modest but steady economic growth this year. The report, written by the Council of Economic Advisers, said that inequality remains higher in the United States than in other countries, but that President Obama's push for raising the minimum wage and investing in childhood education would help low-income families and ease inequality.

The Washington Post

5. Drivers log record 3.1 trillion miles in 2015

Americans drove a record 3.1 trillion miles in 2015, according to a report released Monday by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration. The jump came as a global oil glut dragged down gasoline prices. The previous record of 3 trillion miles was set in 2007, before the Great Recession forced Americans to drive less. California led the nation with an 11.3 percent increase in miles logged in December compared to a year earlier.

Los Angeles Times