Health Scare Latest Hurdle For Struggling Global Economy
As if things weren’t bad enough already for the global economy which has been gripped in the worst recession in decades, a new health scare has health organizations around the world deeply concerned. The new swine flu which seems to have originated in Mexico has already claimed over a hundred lives in the country and new cases have already appeared in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Asia.
A number of countries have already issued travel advisories, which sent airline stocks tumbling in early trading on Monday. The price of oil also saw a dip on concerns that global trade could be impacted.
Some countries have already issued an import ban on U.S. pork products. Not surprisingly pork futures took a big fall on concerns that demand will fall sharply.
The World Health Organization is considering raising it’s alert level as fears of a large outbreak are a major concern. Mexico has already closed all of it’s schools and other large public gatherings.
As was the case when the SARS scare occurred a few years ago, global tourism is also likely to see a decline. Over the past month it was thought the economy may be finally turning the corner, however this new health scare has served to dampen those prospects somewhat.
It remains to be seen how severe this scare will be and how much it will affect global demand.
