Ill-starred men of commerce (7)
I believe the answer is:
traders
'men of commerce' is the definition.
The definition and answer can be both people as well as being plural nouns.
Perhaps there's an association between them I don't understand?
'ill-starred' is the wordplay.
'ill' is an anagram indicator.
'starred' anagrammed gives 'TRADERS'.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for traders that I've seen before include "Dealers" , "businessmen" , "Sellers" .)