Slowdown originating in China. Denial of service and other internet attacks reportedly due to massive Chinese censorship of today's NY Times 7 page article detailing the multiple billionaires within the family of China's Prime Minister - Wen Jiabao. Jiabao - like Warren Buffett, has been portrayed as honest and folksy. A reformer.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4702559
The NY Times piece appears close on the heels of a development in a sensitive area of U.S. - China economic relations, that being China's dominant position in rare earth metals, which are crucial in the production of electronics.
Yesterday China closed down a portion of their rare earth production in an effort to obtain higher prices:
http://www.chron.com/business/techn...e-earths-producer-suspends-output-3979623.php
Unlike, say, copyright issues, pertaining to western software, China has the west in a vulnerable position with rare-earth metals because China obtained production of the metals "fair and square" and is vulnerable neither legally or morally because of their control of rare earth metals prices.
http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4702559
The NY Times piece appears close on the heels of a development in a sensitive area of U.S. - China economic relations, that being China's dominant position in rare earth metals, which are crucial in the production of electronics.
Yesterday China closed down a portion of their rare earth production in an effort to obtain higher prices:
http://www.chron.com/business/techn...e-earths-producer-suspends-output-3979623.php
Unlike, say, copyright issues, pertaining to western software, China has the west in a vulnerable position with rare-earth metals because China obtained production of the metals "fair and square" and is vulnerable neither legally or morally because of their control of rare earth metals prices.