For small companies selling consumer products such as makeup or snack food, a partnership with a big multinational company can mean the difference between obscurity and becoming a household name. How does a small brand get a behemoth's attention?

Investigating dealers of counterfeit drugs is similar to investigating drug cartels, Pfizer has found. It's easy for detectives to jump out and catch the guys selling pills on the corner. It's much harder to catch the kingpins. There's one big difference, though. With cocaine, say, the whole supply chain"”from farming to retailing"”tends to be run by one cartel. With fake pharmaceuticals, the marketplace is open and alliances are constantly shifting. To get to the source, detectives typically start with small-time retailers and work their way up the supply chain.

Josh Neblett, co-founder and chief executive of online retailer GreenCupboards, is busy planning how he'll get the word out about his "eco-friendly" products during the holidays, including e-mail campaigns, Facebook ads, and joint promotions with suppliers. One item not on his list: The daily deal coupons popular in 2011.

Manufacturing data tend to be a leading indicator for the rest of the economy. The recent weakness is more an indication of future conditions than present ones, meaning the U.S. manufacturing renaissance of the last two years may be about to take an extended breather.

China's retail sales growth slowed to 13.8 percent in May, down from the 16-0percent to 18-percent annual growth analysts have grown accustomed to. Many analysts are panicking, saying the data indicate the end of the Chinese consumption story. These fears are overblown.

When Sonja Zozula and Jerry Anderson founded LightSaver Technologies in 2009, everyone told them they should make their emergency lights for homeowners in China. After two years of outsourcing to factories there, last winter they shifted production to Carlsbad, Calif., about 30 miles from their home in San Clemente. "It's probably 30 percent cheaper to manufacture in China," Anderson says. "But factor in shipping and all the other B.S. that you have to endure. It's a question of, 'How do I value my time at three in the morning when I have to talk to China?'"

Electronics manufacturers are threatening to drop out of Energy Star, saying recent changes have made participation in the federal government's voluntary energy efficiency labeling program too costly.