More on the economic impacts. (Who profits?)
It is hard to calm down when you keep on reading articles like this dealing with the possible economic impacts of a worldwide pandemic of avian flu, which, as the writer says, could shut down travel, disrupt supply chains, overwhelm health care systems and devastate economies globally. USA Today cites an economist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who estimated in a 1999 article that a pandemic flu could cost the U.S. alone $71.3 billion to $165 billion.
It also quotes Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, who thinks that those economists that have looked at this have likened it to a catastrophic depression. Travel bans, sick workers and panic could quickly shut down international trade, and we
could well go into utter chaos worldwide for over a year. Osterholm published an article on the topic in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs.
Thanks God there are some who are well prepared. Economist Sherry Cooper and global portfolio strategist Donald Coxe in an Aug. 12 "Investor's Guide to Avian Flu" report from BMO Nesbitt Burns Research predict that soaring death rates would end the housing boom and create a vast oversupply. They also think that
depending on its length and severity, its economic impact could be comparable to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
According to the paper, some businesses, mainly those with facilities in Asia, are already beginning to plan for potential disruption, says Tim Daniel, chief operating officer of International SOS, a Philadelphia-based firm that provides medical assistance and security services in more than 60 countries. Preparation before an outbreak is key, says Daniel, whose company sells a 120-page planning guide.
"It's one thing to have a plan to deal with a bomb attack or an earthquake," says Daniel. "A pandemic will play out differently. It tends to be in waves and could last many months."
Daniel advises companies to consider having employees stay home if they are sick, bringing in food and water so essential workers could be quarantined on the job, and creating work-at-home arrangements.
It is hard to calm down when you keep on reading articles like this dealing with the possible economic impacts of a worldwide pandemic of avian flu, which, as the writer says, could shut down travel, disrupt supply chains, overwhelm health care systems and devastate economies globally. USA Today cites an economist at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention who estimated in a 1999 article that a pandemic flu could cost the U.S. alone $71.3 billion to $165 billion.
It also quotes Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, who thinks that those economists that have looked at this have likened it to a catastrophic depression. Travel bans, sick workers and panic could quickly shut down international trade, and we
could well go into utter chaos worldwide for over a year. Osterholm published an article on the topic in the July/August issue of Foreign Affairs.
Thanks God there are some who are well prepared. Economist Sherry Cooper and global portfolio strategist Donald Coxe in an Aug. 12 "Investor's Guide to Avian Flu" report from BMO Nesbitt Burns Research predict that soaring death rates would end the housing boom and create a vast oversupply. They also think that
depending on its length and severity, its economic impact could be comparable to the Great Depression of the 1930s.
According to the paper, some businesses, mainly those with facilities in Asia, are already beginning to plan for potential disruption, says Tim Daniel, chief operating officer of International SOS, a Philadelphia-based firm that provides medical assistance and security services in more than 60 countries. Preparation before an outbreak is key, says Daniel, whose company sells a 120-page planning guide.
"It's one thing to have a plan to deal with a bomb attack or an earthquake," says Daniel. "A pandemic will play out differently. It tends to be in waves and could last many months."
Daniel advises companies to consider having employees stay home if they are sick, bringing in food and water so essential workers could be quarantined on the job, and creating work-at-home arrangements.
posted by Birdflu(g) at 9:52 AM
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