I'm not saying this is true - just a thought though!

Just a quick one - sitting in a bar yesterday evening and being the "unusual person" magnet I seem to be (you know the type - if I'm on public transport, the guy that gets on the tube/ bus wearing the tinfoil hat and carrying the plastic bag full of barbie heads always walks past 10 empty seats and sits beside me), anyway - guy sits across from me and says ( word for word) " don't you think it's strange that suddenly we have a panedemic scare over "Swine Flu" coinciding with the worldwide economic problems, anyone would think it's a way to take our minds of money problems - you know what I mean - you are all going to die so don't worry about debt - spend spend spend", he then downs his drink, gets up and walks out. I wonder.................................

It's an interesting thought, though I think that it is actually creating the opposite of 'spend,spend,spend' to happen - people are thinking of staying out of public places (including shops, bars, sporting events...) Mexico basically closed for 3 days.
Now, I am not so sure that it doesn't have something to do with all of the drug cartel issues that they have been struggling with in Mexico over the last year .... If people are afraid of getting the flu, they won't travel to Mexico for a few months until it dies down, but if people are afraid of getting shot or beheaded, they won't travel to Mexico ever. It is better for them if the flu is the concern, and maybe people will forget about the other issues?

Probably not true, but your post made that run across my mind...