A series of articles in major media outlets warn of the possible economic damage an avian flu pandemic could cause, adding to already high tensions. Things are unlikely to calm down anytime soon. Some analysts are cautioning that a pandemic could cause as much as $100 billion of economic damage due to lost worker productivity, decreased air travel and diminished international trade. Pandemic experts have been issuing such warnings for a long time, of course. Many Wall Street estimates draw on research conducted by BMO Burns Nesbitt Research, which authored a report over the summer titled An Investor's Guide to Avian Flu.
- see this article from Investor's Business Daily
- read the report by BMO Burns Nesbitt Research (pdf)