The long predicted influenza pandemic appears to be upon us, with more than 20 cases reported in the US at this writing. Last year, the World Bank predicted a pandemic would affect the world economy by a 5pc drop in output.

The US government has declared a health emergency, with Homeland Security chief effectively saying “Don’t panic.”

The danger is a kind of pandemic protectionism spreads around the world, adding to its economic woes. Already pork from Mexico has been banned by China and Russia. The ban has now been extended to Texas, California and Kansas. We can be sure that is only the beginning.

A serious 1918 type of pandemic, which killed millions around the globe, would really challenge the world economy and set it back a decade at least.

Let us hope it doesn’t come to that.

Surveys have shown that women invest in the stock market far less than men do; they have a different view on the risks and possible gains and are much less confident of their ability to invest wisely. But, when they do try the stock market, they generally do better than men, choosing dependable stocks and ignoring the get-rich-quick options.

Kiplinger suggests that couples should invest together, thereby complementing each other’s strengths and weaknesses. The man can encourage investments in higher yield stocks and the woman restrain him from his wilder excesses.

Which seems like a good plan to me!

An article at Consumer Affairs warns that scammers are pulling out an old con to fleece unsuspecting investors. The scam is called the “pump and dump”.

The scammers buy up stocks that are selling for pennies a share. The scammers then send out millions of emails that encourage victims to invest in the company’s stock. The result is that trading in the stock increases, rapidly driving up the share price. When the stock hits a high point, the scammers sell off their shares and the price of the stock falls dramatically. Those who invested on the advice of the email lose money as the stock’s price falls to its original worth.

Read the article

When the market opened this morning to news of terrorist attack plots, stocks slipped in the jittery atmosphere of uncertainty. But they rallied and fought back as oil prices began to tumble.

Analysts did not agree on the reason for the $2.35 per barrel decline. Some opined that it was as a result of the terrorist plot and the possibility of reduced airline flights while others felt that other factors such as the slowing economy played the major roles in the plummeting oil prices.