I almost fell out of my chair when the call came to the office last Thursday. CNBC wanted me to appear on a segment dealing with that mornings government report on the U.S.'s May trade deficit.

"The trade deficit?" I wondered as the producer and I began talking. Why was CNBC interested in that? True, the gap unexpectedly jumped 4.8 percent, to $42.3 billion -- the highest level in 18 months. But the previous 17 increases had passed with virtually no media notice.


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