Category: International

Economists have been monitoring Influenza A H1N1, better known as "swine flu," since its appearance in the U.S. this spring -- fearing a widespread outbreak of the deadly virus might disrupt America's nascent economic recovery.

How can the flu hurt the economy? A large chunk of the population gets sick, many for weeks at time, missing work and bringing productivity to a screeching halt. People stop going to public areas like restaurants or the movies to avoid exposure. Tourism and world trade decline as people avoid travel to infected areas. And costs for treatment skyrocket, putting further strain on companies and individuals to cover rising insurance costs.

Have you caught this week's edition of Celebrity Stakeout? The U.S. dollar is the star of the show.

If you're like most people a dollar bill is a wrinkled piece of paper that causes you nothing but stress. How do I get more?...Do I have enough?...Where do I keep it?...Can I trust it? Forget about that for a second. Let's imagine the dollar is no longer simply a blend of linen and cotton but instead a celebrity caught in a downward spiral, a human in the flesh. Celebrity Stakeout takes a hard look at the ups and downs of this human Dollar's life.

G20 leaders say they will require banks to raise more capital in order to make them safer from future disasters. But economist Simon Johnson tells me the increases will be "dinky."

Johnson points out that Lehman Brothers had more than enough capital on hand to satisfy bank regulators when it failed.

Here's an excerpt of what Johnson told me...

I recall covering the 1996 New Hampshire primary. Senator Bob Dole was running to be the Republican nominee for President. During a campaign stop, he visited a computer network manufacturing company. During the run-up to the primary a key political issue was, "the economy, stupid." Speaking to the company's employees, Sen. Dole ad-libbed at the top of his speech, saying who would have thought, jobs, trade, and "what you people do here" would be such an issue in this election. It seems he failed to grasp the significance of trade as a political issue. He lost the New Hampshire primary to Pat Buchanan and, of course, the general election to President Clinton.

But it seems most presidents "get it" their first term in office. Protecting domestic industries is a common move for first term presidents. George W. Bush put tariffs on steel. Clinton put pressure on Japanese auto imports. And, Reagan took steps to protect the auto, steel and textile makers.