Business briefs 7/14/04

Teaching candidates given faulty exam scores

WASHINGTON -- About 4,100 people who passed teacher licensing tests were incorrectly told they failed, delaying or preventing some from getting jobs, the testing company says. The Educational Testing Service, a private company that administers more than 12 million tests worldwide, is tracking down each person who received a faulty score to apologize and refund the $115 test fee and other expenses. The company is also notifying the 19 states that use the Praxis exam in question, one that tests teaching and content knowledge for prospective educators of grades seven to 12.

U.S. trade deficit narrows to $46 billion

WASHINGTON -- America's trade deficit narrowed to $46 billion in May, an improvement brought about as U.S. exports posted their best month on record. The latest snapshot of trade activity, reported by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, came after the deficit had mushroomed to an all-time monthly high of $48.1 billion in April. The 4.5 percent reduction in the deficit during May represented the largest over-the-month decrease since October 2002. The decline was the first after five straight months of increases. The trade deficit figure for May was better than some analysts were expecting. They were forecasting the deficit to hold fairly steady. The narrowing of the gap in May resulted from export growth far outpacing imports, which still climbed to a record high.

-- From wire reports