Swine flu on the airwaves

Squawk, twit, chirp

It’s 8 am in Beijing, April 28, and the international TV news channels are freaking out about swine flu.

In China, CCTV’s news channel is reporting on the outbreak and pointing out that China is well-prepared to cope with outbreaks of contagious diseases, thanks to it experience and the facilities built during SARS. The news packages are also noting symptoms and preventative measures that citizens can take. The state itself is stepping up inspections are airports and harbors on people and goods, and has suspended pork imports from Mexico and the U.S.

On the other side of the Pacific pond and the Eurasian landmass, CNN and BBC are rather enjoying the footage of people wondering around Mexican cities wearing face masks, interspersed with white coated experts pointing out how this may be the greatest disease story of the 21st Century. But please don’t panic.

As if things needed an extra little apocalyptic special effect, a small earthquake has struck Mexico City.

In Beijing, The China Daily reports that the Mexican Ambassador says that the virus may not have originated in Mexico:

Citing the results of a study in his country, he said: “Somebody from Eurasia first got infected and took it to Mexico,” causing the outbreak.

But there’s someone happy amongst all of the swine flu gloom: financial journalists!

The talking heads on Bloomberg TV and CNBC are chirping about how this swine flu stuff could be good for pharma stocks, although they note sadly that the travel and airline industries are in for a rough ride. On the other hand, JP Morgan thinks that stocks battered by swine flu may be good bets (see Bloomberg link below), just as SARS produced some bargains for savvy investors who did not panic.