This is an incredible step for Japan and Major League Baseball.Japan has been a baseball phenom. They have been sending the United States player after player.  They've given us Ichiro, Matsui, Okajima and Matsuzaka They have become the new baseball capital. Japan does have one fatal flaw: Japan's average player is definitely not the same caliber as the U.S. They have given away their extraordinary players.In my mind, Japan has to keep the players that show real talent.  They need to contend with the U.S.  The U.S. has been on top of the baseball world, but Japan is like a bomb, just waiting to blow.  They have given away their former stars for money, but now their new stars are ready to stay for the chance of stardom in their home country. . SINGAPORE, April 29 (Reuters) – Sembcorp Marine (SCMN.SI)has terminated a rig-building contract with Norway’s PetroMenaASA PMENA.OL as the firm did not make the final payment, theSingapore company said on Wednesday. Sembcorp, the world’s second-biggest offshore oil-rigmaker, said in a statement it has completed the construction ofthe semi-submersible rig and plans to sell the rig to recoverthe outstanding amount.(Reporting by Saeed Azhar; Editing by Kevin Lim).

Funny how something could be considered evil at one point in life and, years later, be considered a God-send.I'm talking about television.When I was a wee lad, my mother hated everything about it; from the steady cacophonous noise, to the poor program selection, to the killing fields of radiation spewing out into my eyeballs, resting six inches away. Part of the problem, I know, was our TV was in black & white.Dad (“Red”) was traveling all-the-time,so he could watch color TVs in his hotel rooms.The family set was secondary to him.In fact, even when he was home he wasn't around us enough to watch the thing.He'd spend most of his time in another room in our apartment (usually mine) working on “plans” for some new business, idea or invention (more than once I had to push his sleeping body onto my floor so I could crawl under the covers of my bed and pray my mother didn't kill the man). I don't think he realized our TV was black & white until he started one year – I think 1980 – unemployed.His playing career over for two years at that point; he kicked around a St. She doesn't call it “the boob tube” anymore.Mom calls it “Jimmy's box” because she's proud.And what did she do if I was playing in one city and “Red” was announcing a game in another at the same time?She always chose her son.That, to me, is the definition of loyalty.Add to any service This article is also featured on High & Tight With Jimmy Scott. April 29 (Reuters) – Three months ended March 31, 2009 (in million US$ unless stated) Shr (U.S. cents) 1.93vs 2.93 Net43.40 vs 65.84 Revenue75.44 vs 73.56 Company name COSCO Pacific Ltd.

NOTE – Hong Kong-listed China-owned container leasing firmCOSCO Pacific (1199.HK) is controlled by its largest customer,China Ocean Shipping (Group) Co (COSCO) The calculation of share earnings is based on the weightedaverage of 2,245.03 million shares in issue during the period vs2,244.97 million shares for the same period a year ago.(Reporting by Raymond Leung; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner). (Adds details) China BEIJING, April 29 (Reuters) – China CITIC Bank Corp Ltd(0998.HK), the country’s seventh-largest lender, is optimisticabout this year’s earnings outlook and is reining in loan growthto safeguard against a rise in bad loans. Chief Executive Chen Xiaoxian said the bank would adoptstricter loan checks and had sent inspectors to those branchesthat had recorded a surge in discounted bill financing in thefirst quarter. “Banks need to take more forceful actions to increase riskcontrols,” he told reporters. Chen was speaking a day after the banking flagship of China’stop financial conglomerate, CITIC Group, reported that net profitlast year rose 61 percent to 13.32 billion yuan ($1.95 billion).

“Although there are many difficulties, I’m still optimisticabout our earnings outlook,” Chen said. “The core aim is to beatthe general market,” he said of the bank’s objective. Total lending by Chinese banks in the first quarter reached arecord 4.58 trillion yuan, close to the government’s minimumtarget for the whole year of 5 trillion yuan. Asked about his top concern, Chen said: “Of course, it isasset quality given such fast loan growth.” Chen called the surge unsustainable. He did not disclose howmuch CITIC Bank had lent in the first three months, but he saidthe pace would slow. “No matter how complicated your businesses are, you mustclearly know the default rate,” he said of lessons learned fromthe global financial crisis.

Vice-President Wu Beiying said most of CITIC Bank’s loans sofar this year had been channeled to government-backed investmentprojects or to the rail, road, telecoms and energy sectors. The bank had not seen strong loan demand from small firms,exporters and the engineering industry, he added. Wu said CITIC Bank’s non-performing loan ratio had droppedfurther in the first quarter after declining to 1.36 percent atthe end of December from 1.48 percent at the end of 2007 “We are confident about our overall asset quality,” he said. Wu did not give a specific NPL ratio for the end of the firstquarter but said most of the bank’s bad loans were in the YangtzeRiver Delta. Assistant President Cao Guoqiang said the bank’s net interestmargin was bottoming out and may widen again later in the year aslong as there was no further cut in official interest rates. CITIC Bank’s net interest margin shrank to 2.89 percent atthe end of last year from 3.42 percent at the end of March 2008.He did not disclose a figure for the end of the first quarter. The bank’s net income rose 38 percent last year to 36.09billion yuan, while net fee and commission income increased 46percent to 3.04 billion yuan.