Trade

It was a weak draft to begin with, quickly written off as Blake Griffin and a cast of dozens. But then let ESPN move in its crew and cameras for the day, let Shaquille O'Neal get traded to Cleveland, let Vince Carter get traded to Orlando, and you don't need to guess where ESPN's draft coverage is going to head in a sprint. "Let's talk," anchor Stuart Scott told analysts Mark Jackson, Jeff Van Gundy and Jay Bilas. "Shaquille O'Neal. LeBron James.

In a rare bit of good news for the economy, the U.S. trade deficit narrowed in May to its lowest point since November 1999 as American exports unexpectedly rose and imports continued to fall. The latest trade data, released Friday by the Commerce Department, suggested that U.S. exports, which shot up 1.6% from April, may finally have begun to rebound after virtually collapsing last fall and into early this year.

A group of Midwestern Democrats is pushing for tariffs on products from countries that don't limit greenhouse gas emissions, a controversial step that the legislators say is needed to help American manufacturers survive expected emissions restrictions here. The Democrats say the measure would level the playing field for U.S. factories, which will probably face increased energy costs due to global warming legislation backed by the Obama administration. The legislation narrowly passed in the House in June and is pending in the Senate.

Samsung Electronics Co. of South Korea, the world's largest maker of liquid-crystal display televisions, may be barred from selling TVs and computer monitors in the U.S. after losing a patent case filed by Japanese rival Sharp Corp. The U.S. International Trade Commission in Washington said Wednesday that Samsung violated Sharp's patent rights and ordered both sides to submit arguments on whether an import ban should be imposed. In a notice on its website, the agency said it wanted to consider the effect of a ban on "competitive conditions in the U.S. economy."

A White House official Saturday defended President Obama's decision to levy steep tariffs on tires from China, denying that it was an act of trade protectionism, as Chinese officials charged, or was intended to make a statement about the administration's broader strategy on trade policy. "This is certainly not an action directed against globalization," said the official, who requested anonymity when discussing White House thinking, a day after Obama moved to add a 35% duty on automobile and light-truck tires.

The sun is high and it's a slow day for selling and there's not much for a camel trader to do except scatter hay and greens and listen to the big beasts munch. Sounds like shoes walking through gravel. Essam Ammar lifts a cellphone from his tunic. "Hi, Ahmed. No, I won't lower the price." Eyes roll. Ammar pulls the phone from his ear and looks at it; Ahmed's words crackle in the air. Click. It's not even noon. The day seems in retreat. "I've been doing this for 29 years," says Ammar, who wears a white-lace cap and an even snowier pinstriped vest, a risky choice amid blowing dust and rubbish fires.

With 190,000 foreign buyers roaming 12 million square feet of showroom floor, Sandy Wang hoped there would be plenty of new orders for her company's steel-toe work boots and leather loafers. But despite recent signs of an uptick in global trade, Wang's booth at the Canton Trade Fair saw little action. There were plenty of lookers, she said, but few takers. "Things will never be the same again," said Wang, whose orders from the United States dropped 20% in the last year. "We're all very worried."

Autumn is the beginning of a dangerous season for the youngest victims of the sex trade. Sports championships, beginning with the World Series in October, are magnets for traffickers. In upcoming weeks, authorities say, dozens of children will be transported as prostitutes to the National Football League playoffs, the Super Bowl and, in the spring and summer, the NBA finals and other tournaments. But these days, along with the teams and the fans, the FBI will be there too. Most Americans have heard about children forced into the sex trade, but the recent arrest of 60 suspected pimps and the rescue of 52 children from organized sex rings across the United States should end the illusion that this terrible crime happens only in other countries.

Broadcom Corp. won an order limiting U.S. imports of some navigation devices and personal digital assistants that run on chips made by SiRF Technology Holdings Inc. The U.S. International Trade Commission said SiRF chips brought into the U.S. for testing purposes, and devices made by Pharos Science & Applications Inc., Mitac International Corp.'s Mio Technology and E-Ten Corp., should be barred. Global Locate, a maker of chips for global positioning systems that Irvine-based Broadcom bought in 2007, is vying with SiRF to provide semiconductors to Garmin Ltd. and TomTom, the biggest makers of the navigation devices.

Russia and Ukraine signed a 10-year natural gas supply deal to clear the way for a resumption of supplies to a freezing Europe, cut off for nearly two weeks by a dispute between the former Soviet states. The European Union said it would not consider the crisis over until its monitors registered gas arriving from pipelines across Ukraine. Under the deal, Ukraine will buy Russian gas at a 20% discount to European market prices in 2009, while Kiev agreed to retain preferential transit fees for Russia this year before both sides switch to a market-based price formula from 2010.