Also
* The United States and Vietnam signed a trade pact that would remove one of the last major hurdles to Hanoi’s joining the World Trade Organization.
* Starwood Capital Group agreed to sell the Taittinger champagne house to Credit Agricole du Nord-Est, for about $850 million.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
