SWINE FLU SPREADS

SWINE FLU SPREADS

Just when some optimists started spotting green shootsin the global economy, a new threat loomed: the virulent swine flu strain that was blamed for more than 100 deaths in Mexico and had reached Europe and the U.S., where the first death was reported on Apr. 29. Stocks of airlines and hotel chains got slammed on Apr. 27 as investors braced for a fall in travel, and Mexican retailers suffered as shoppers stayed home. Some economists say the impact on global business is unlikely to be as severe as during the Asian SARS outbreak in 2003. But that could change if swine flu sweeps the globe, and on Apr. 29 the World Health Organization raised its alert to one level short of global pandemic.

See PAGE 020 "Swine Flu: This Time We're Ready"