News: Paul A. Friedman, like many travelers shuffling through airport security lines, sometimes daydreams about owning a private jet.

Dr. Friedman is one of the lucky ones who could afford it. Over the past few years, the former associate professor at Harvard Medical School sold $146.1 million worth of shares in Incyte Corp. He headed the firm as chief executive from lean times through the successful launch of a drug to treat a rare...

Title: Biotech Labs Birth New Drugs-and New Fortunes


News: The People's Bank of China in Beijing. Markets settled somewhat on Friday after the overnight lending rate between banks dropped.

BEIJING â Chinaâs credit crunch eased Friday after lending picked up among banks and financial institutions that had been desperately seeking cash in the bank-to-bank market.

The central government made no official announcement on the situation, and it was unclear whether policy makers had intervened, but short-term interest rates fell sharply Friday from a day earlier, when they had reached some of the highest levels in a decade.

Still, the Chinese financial markets remained under pressure. Rates for institutions that were seeking interbank funding on Friday were still substantially higher than a few weeks ago. Financial experts expressed skepticism that the government would do more to aid banks that were temporarily starved for cash.

The reluctance of policy makers to act comes amid growing concerns that Chinaâs economy is weakening and that the government has abandoned its longstanding policy of responding to any hint of an economic slowdown by expanding credit.

By signaling a new restraint in monetary policy, Beijing seems to be tackling what analysts say is the growing risk of poor lending practices and overcapacity in the economy.

Louis Kuijs, an economist at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said Friday that the governmentâs response to weak cash flows in the interbank market, where banks make short-term loans to one another, was a sign of the governmentâs new resolve.

âIt was the shift in the stance of the P.B.C. that made all the difference,â he said, referring to the Peopleâs Bank of China, the central bank, acting in a way that had sent interest rates higher. âThe government at the moment wants to signal, âweâre working on reform â weâre not interested in short-term stimulus,â like China did in the past.â

The apparent decision not to pump more cash into the economy rocked Chinaâs financial markets Thursday. Investor worries were compounded by newly released economic data indicating that manufacturing activity was contracting and export and job growth were tepid.

As credit markets began to freeze up and mistrust among banks spread, rumors circulated of defaults. Late Thursday, the Bank of China, one of the countryâs biggest lenders, issued a statement on its Web site denying local news reports that it had defaulted on interbank payments.

By late Friday, the markets had settled somewhat. The overnight lending rate between banks had dropped to 8.49 percent, down from a record high of 13.44 percent on Thursday, but still much higher than last monthâs levels of less than 4 percent.

Another benchmark rate for borrowing costs between banks, the seven-day repurchase rate, opened Friday at 8.1 percent, briefly soared as high as 25 percent and closed at 5.5 percent.

Few analysts expect the liquidity strains to lead to a financial or economic crisis because Beijing has the tools to avert a serious slowdown, with its tight control over the banking and financial sector.

But experts say the risks are rising and the choices are grim: if the government pulls back on lending, the economy could suffer in the short term; if it pumps more money into the economy to avert a slowdown, it could do long-term damage to an economy that many believe is already suffering from overinvestment.

There are also growing concerns about Chinaâs huge shadow banking sector, with some financial experts warning of hidden liabilities tied up in local government projects, as well as the so-called wealth management products that are sold to investors through banks and trust funds but do not appear on the financial companiesâ balance sheets.

âPersistent tight liquidity conditions in Chinaâs financial sector could constrain the ability of some banks to meet upcoming obligations on maturing wealth management products on a timely basis,â the credit ratings agency Fitch Ratings said in a report Friday.

Joe Zhang, a longtime banker and the author of âInside Chinaâs Shadow Banking: the Next Subprime Crisis?,â said the decision by Chinaâs central bank to discipline banks by allowing the rates to rise this week was necessary.

âEffectively, they are telling commercial banks to go and sort out their problems,â he said in a telephone interview Friday. âThe banks have lent out too much money. And what happens over time? You go from prime to subprime to silly loans. This is what happened with the U.S. subprime crisis. Banks start lending to bad projects. Weâve been too reckless.â

Neil Gough contributed reporting from Hong Kong.

Title: Chinaâs Credit Squeeze Relaxes as Interest Rates Drop


News: The latest edition of Sports Weekly has our staff Power Rankings and there aren't any major surprises. (In fact, the leaders are exactly the same as my picks below.) The closest race for the individual awards is for American League MVP, with the 12 first-place votes split among four players -- Robinson Cano, Miguel Cabrera, Justin Morneau and Evan Longoria. (Team rankings can be found here.)

From a fantasy standpoint, it really isn't close with Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano leading everyone with a $48 Roto value through Tuesday's games. No one in the majors is within 20 points of Cano's .368 average, plus he's also leading the majors in hits and among the AL's top five in runs, RBI, OBP, slugging and OPS. Those 13 home runs aren't too shabby and with Alex Rodriguez sidelined, Cano has filled in capably as the Yanks' cleanup hitter.

Despite missing a little over two weeks with a broken finger, Andre Ethier has still put up MVP numbers (.339-11-40). Plus, he's been great in the clutch with several game-winning hits for a Dodger team that currently has the league's second-best record. Interestingly, the NL hitter with the highest Roto value is supposedly having a down year: Albert Pujols.

My top two matches the staff consensus, but how can you overlook what Jose Valverde has done so far? A 0.64 ERA, 0.78 WHIP and 14 saves. I have him third over Andy Pettitte.

This one's pretty easy. Unanimous, even.

I know he has a ridiculous BABIP that will eventually bring his average down, but every time I've watched Austin Jackson this year he's hitting a line drive somewhere.

Can't put Stephen Strasburg in here just yet, but that time figures to be coming very soon.

YOUR THOUGHTS: Who do you think will win this year's major awards? Do you have any objections to these selections? Who was left out? Feel free to comment below.

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