Probably not because Statcounter's link popularity has decreased. Seems to me that Google has tightened up the algo. Pretty old news mind you.
It shouldn't, The only thing it would mean is that it is genuine? A genuine site usually has a high PR.
Yeah, but I believe statcounter can easily make alot of money by providing a upgraded, counter and people will pay.
I read somewhere they charge 1500 for a link... x10 = $15000 I wouldn't call this change... Should be paying for a part of the servers fees