Home construction strong during JuneWASHINGTON — Construction of new homes posted a solid increase in June, led by a surge of building in the Northeast and the West.The Commerce Department said Tuesday that housing starts rose 4.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.19 million from a revised 1.14 million in May. The June reading was the highest level since February, but was down from 1.21 million a year earlier.

IMF says Brexit hurts growthWASHINGTON — Britain’s decision to leave the European Union will reduce global economic growth this year and next, according to the International Monetary Fund.The IMF said Tuesday that it is shaving its estimate for worldwide growth to 3.1 percent this year and 3.4 percent in 2017. Both estimates are 0.1 percentage points lower than the bank’s April forecast.

UnitedHealth’s profit surgesUnitedHealth’s second-quarter earnings jumped 11 percent to beat investor expectations even though the nation’s largest health insurer took a bigger hit than expected from coverage linked to the Affordable Care Act.The company said Tuesday that losses from its ACA-compliant individual business came in $200 million above projections, which means the company now expects to lose around $850 million this year from what amounts to a small slice of its total operation.

Johnson & Johnson tops 2Q forecastsJohnson & Johnson easily beat profit forecasts for its second quarter and raised its full-year financial forecasts.Sales of several key new medicines buoyed revenue, and medical device sales edged up. But sales dipped for consumer products such as Band-Aids and Johnson’s Baby Powder.