Something Is Not Right: China

Showing posts with label China. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated by Spies

WSJ.com: "WASHINGTON -- Cyberspies have penetrated the U.S. electrical grid and left behind software programs that could be used to disrupt the system, according to current and former national-security officials.

The spies came from China, Russia and other countries, these officials said, and were believed to be on a mission to navigate the U.S. electrical system and its controls. The intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure, but officials warned they could try during a crisis or war.

'The Chinese have attempted to map our infrastructure, such as the electrical grid,' said a senior intelligence official. 'So have the Russians.'

The espionage appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn't target a particular company or region, said a former Department of Homeland Security official. 'There are intrusions, and they are growing,' the former official said, referring to electrical systems. 'There were a lot last year.'
Discuss

Many of the intrusions were detected not by the companies in charge of the infrastructure but by U.S. intelligence agencies, officials said. Intelligence officials worry about cyber attackers taking control of electrical facilities, a nuclear power plant or financial networks via the Internet."

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Wen Jiabao

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM ANNUAL MEETING 2009 - We...

Image by World Economic Forum via Flickr

25 People to Blame for the Financial Crisis - TIME:

If cheap credit was the crack cocaine of this financial crisis — and it was — then China was one of its primary dealers. China is now the largest creditor to the U.S. government, holding an estimated $1.7 trillion in dollar-denominated debt. That massive build-up in dollar holdings is specifically linked to China's efforts to control the value of its currency. China didn't want the renminbi to rise too rapidly against the dollar, in part because a cheap currency kept its export sector humming — which it did until U.S. demand cratered last fall."

Sunday, March 15, 2009

FT.com / China - China lost billions in diversity drive

Image via Wikipedia

FT.com / China - China lost billions in diversity drive: "China has lost tens of billions of dollars of its foreign exchange reserves through a poorly timed diversification into global equities just before world markets collapsed last year.

The State Administration of Foreign Exchange, the opaque manager of nearly $2,000bn (€1,547bn, £1,429bn) of reserves, started making huge bets on global stocks early in 2007 and continued this strategy at least until the collapse of the US mortgage finance providers Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in July 2008, according to analysts and people familiar with Safe’s operations.

By that point Safe had moved well over 15 per cent of the country’s $1,800bn reserves into riskier assets, including equities and corporate bonds, according to people familiar with its strategy.

Safe never discloses its holdings except to the top Chinese leadership so it is impossible to know exactly how much it has lost from diversifying before markets crashed.

But judging from the subsequent fall in global stock prices and a conservative estimate that Safe held about $160bn worth of overseas equities, Chinese"

Monday, February 16, 2009

Economy Strains Under Weight of Unsold Items

Image via Wikipedia

Economy Strains Under Weight of Unsold Items - washingtonpost.com: "'In China, during the boom, there was huge over-capacity in various lines of activity ranging from shoes and clothing, light manufacturing -- all of that stuff. So that is why from the perspective of U.S. companies, we have found it so important to be on the innovative edge,' said Harvard business professor Joseph L. Bower. 'The only way to create value is to be on the innovative, high-tech, fashion-forward side.'

If the credit crunch in the United States persists, 'companies will find it difficult to invest in technology for a while, and then once the financial markets are back on track and demand recovers, companies will find themselves in difficult position,' Comin said. 'Productivity growth will be declining for a while. They will have a hard time catching up."

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Japan Heads for Worst Postwar Slump

Image by ivva via Flickr

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: "Jan. 30 (Bloomberg) -- Japan headed for its worst postwar recession as factory output slumped an unprecedented 9.6 percent in December, unemployment surged and households cut spending.

The drop in production eclipsed the previous record of 8.5 percent set only a month earlier, the Trade Ministry said today in Tokyo. The jobless rate soared to 4.4 percent from 3.9 percent, the biggest jump in 41 years.

Recessions in the U.S. and Europe and a slowdown in China have smothered demand for Japanese cars and electronics. Toshiba Corp., which is firing 4,500 workers, yesterday forecast a record annual loss and said it will delay building a chip factory. Honda Motor Co. this week widened production cuts.

“Japan’s economy is falling off a cliff,” said Junko Nishioka, an economist at RBS Securities Japan Ltd. in Tokyo. “There’s really nothing out there to drive growth.”

The Nikkei 225 Stock Average sank 3.4 percent at the morning close in Tokyo, led by Toshiba and Nintendo Co., which cut its profit forecast by a third yesterday. The Nikkei has fallen 10.1 percent this year, extending last year’s record 42 percent drop."

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Is China Heart of Slowdown?

Image by House prices in Shanghai, Shenzhen and Guangzhou are plunging, and the global economy may grind almost to a halt next year because of it."

Full article on CBS News at: China Is `Heart of Global Slowdown' as Property Slump Stalls Driver of GDP

Something Is Not Right

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Electricity Grid in U.S. Penetrated by Spies