National Business

LONDON — Ian McEwan is fascinated by artificial intelligence. His new novel, "Machines Like Me," features a lifelike android with access to all human knowledge who writes haiku poetry. In real life, the Booker Prize-winning author is conflicted.

WASHINGTON — Sales of new U.S. homes increased 4.5% in March, the third straight monthly gain as the housing market appears to be cautiously recovering from a mortgage rate spike last year that caused homebuying to slump.

SAN FRANCISCO — Twitter Inc. on Tuesday trumpeted strong quarterly growth in earnings and users while President Donald Trump tweeted criticism of the social media site for allegedly discriminating against him politically.

ATLANTA — The Coca-Cola Co. surprised investors with a better-than-expected first quarter but cautioned that it's still expecting slower growth for the full year. Atlanta-based Coke reported net income of $1.

MILWAUKEE — Harley-Davidson reported a decline in motorcycles sales in the U.S. and abroad as it continues to adapt to an aging clientele while navigating the costs of higher tariffs on its motorcycles shipped overseas.

VALCOURT, Que. — The chairman of recreational products maker BRP Inc. is stepping down, ceding the head spot to longtime president and chief executive Jose Boisjoli. Laurent Beaudoin's retirement follows his departure last year from Bombardier Inc.

TORONTO — Gains in the energy sector helped lift Canada's main stock index in late-morning trading, while U.S. stock markets also surged higher. The S&P/TSX composite index was up 47.39 points at 16,624.67.

LONDON — U.S.

DETROIT — U.S. auto safety regulators have expanded an investigation into malfunctioning air bag controls to include 12.3 million vehicles because the bags may not inflate in a crash. The problem could be responsible for as many as eight deaths.

OTTAWA — Statistics Canada says wholesale sales posted their third consecutive monthly gain as they increased 0.3 per cent to $63.7 billion in February. Economists on average had expected a gain of 0.