Stocks slip...Trade deficit widens...Service firms grow...Germany: No race to the bottom

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have opened the trading day lower in New York. Phone companies are seeing the biggest declines in early trading, while banks also continue to drop. Bank of America and Citigroup each fell 2 percent. European markets are broadly lower and the pound is down against the dollar.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit has widened. The Commerce Department reports it rose to $41.1 billion in May. U.S. exports edged down 0.2 percent thanks to a strong dollar and weak overseas growth, while imports jumped 1.6 percent. A surge in imports of Chinese-made cellphones and computers pushed the imbalance with China to the highest level in six months.

WASHINGTON (AP) —U.S. services firms continue to grow. The Institute for Supply Management says its service index rose to 56.5 percent in June. That was more than three and a half points higher than its May reading. Anything over 50 represents growth. ISM says economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector has now grown for 77 consecutive months.

BERLIN (AP) — Germany's finance minister says he doesn't expect a "race to the bottom" on business taxes, despite Britain's plans to cut its corporate tax rate to less than 15 percent. German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble says Britain's move will have little influence on German policy. He says Germany is "not against tax competition," but favors budgets in European Union member countries "being fairly and appropriately financed."

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — Norfolk Southern Corporation will pay nearly $500,000 to more than 2,000 African-Americans to settle allegations of race-based hiring discrimination. The Department of Labor found that the railway failed to provide equal-employment opportunities and engaged in discriminatory hiring practices against African-American applicants from the start of 2010, through 2011. Norfolk Southern agreed to issue back pay with interest to African-Americans who applied for track laborer and building-and-bridge laborer positions at the company's Roanoke, Virginia, location.

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