On a related note, by voting no to the Euro, it caused a major reduction in the Euoropean currency, possibly pushing China into a minor recession. How you ask?
Most steel exporters in Europe are currently working off the Euro, and when the currency drops so does their export cost. Because China is one of (if not THE) biggest steel manufacturers in the world, it forced Chinese manufacturers to drop their pricing in order to compeste with the EU. Korea has followed, and so has Japan.
Because of the rapid expansion of the Chinese market in the past year (housing boom, vehicle demand, etc) it caused a rapid increase in steel demand. Manufacturers spent millions upon millions of dollars on expansion to keep upwith this demand. Because the economy was growing so fast, the Chinese government started putting restrictions on the amount of money that companies were able to access (controlling debt load), to avoid another "Asian flu" like what happened to Japan and Korea in the early to mid 90's, when a massive economic boom was followed by a massive economic collapse. Add these growth restrictions to a sudden drop in steel pricing, the manufacturers that spent millions expanding capacities are now forced to either supply steel at a loss, or declare bankruptcy. If the latter happens, expect a major problem in Asia.
Kind of interesting how these things tie into the bigger picture.
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