The daily business briefing: June 23, 2020

1. Trump extends, expands visa restrictions

President Trump issued a proclamation on Monday temporarily suspending a variety of work visas and barring more than 500,000 foreigners from entering the United States. The visas that will be affected include H-1Bs used by highly skilled foreign engineers. Tech giants including Amazon, Uber, Google parent Alphabet, and Twitter called the move "unbelievably bad policy" that will hurt the economic recovery. The restrictions are the latest Trump has pushed to make fewer visas available to would-be immigrants as Americans face historically high unemployment due to the coronavirus crisis. An April immigration proclamation targeting people overseas trying to get into the U.S. legally had been set to expire, but the new policy will extend and expand it until the end of the year.

The New York Times Business Insider

2. White House adviser walks back statement about China deal being 'over'

White House trade advisor Peter Navarro clarified a statement he made Monday on Fox News that suggested the China trade deal was "over," saying the "comments have been taken wildly out of context." He said his remark to Fox News had "nothing at all to do with the Phase I trade deal, which continues in place. I was simply speaking to the lack of trust we now have of the Chinese Communist Party after they lied about the origins of the China virus and foisted a pandemic upon the world." U.S. stock index futures plunged after the Fox News report but recovered after Navarro walked back the remarks. Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq were up by about 0.8 percent several hours before the opening bell on Tuesday.

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CNBC

3. Home sales plunged in May

U.S. home sales fell to their lowest level in nearly a decade in May, according to a National Association of Realtors report released Monday. The May figure reflects closings on contracts signed in March and April, when most of the United States was under coronavirus lockdown. Applications for home loans have jumped since then, reaching an 11-year high in recent weeks as mortgage rates fell to record lows. Building permits rebounded in May. "Home sales may bounce with pent-up demand following the shutdown of the economy starting in March, but the massive scale of job losses and cautious consumers rebuilding their savings may limit sales," said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at MUFG in New York. "There is still a long road to recovery for the broader economy."

Reuters

4. Patagonia joins North Face, REI in Facebook ad boycott

The apparel brand Patagonia has announced it will pull advertising from Facebook and Instagram, becoming the fourth major company to back the "#StopHateforProfit" advertising boycott, following The North Face, REI, and Upwork. In a Twitter thread, Patagonia said that "for too long, Facebook has failed to take sufficient steps to stop the spread of hateful lies and dangerous propaganda on its platform." The company said it will pull its ads at least through the end of July, "pending meaningful action from the social media giant." Facebook said "we deeply respect any brand's decision and remain focused on the important work of removing hate speech and providing critical voting information." Facebook has been criticized for deciding not to take action against inflammatory posts by President Trump.

CNN

5. Apple shares jump after company unveils new software

Apple shares gained more than 2 percent on Monday, climbing to a record high after the iPhone maker announced several upcoming software and other product changes at its annual WorldWide Developers Conference. The company unveiled details on new software for the iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple TV, and Apple Watch. It also said it would stop using Intel chips in new Mac computers. The latest version of the iPhone operating system will let users set default email and browser apps for the first time. The system, iOS 14, also will allow users to pin widgets such as calendar and map mini-programs on their home screen, and will have a picture-in-picture feature with a pop up screen that will float on other apps when a user is watching a video, a capability already available on the iPad.

CNBC