The Geopolitics of Pandemics

Dear Friends -

If you ever look at the footnotes, you know that "Past performance is no guarantee of future results." That said, by the time you've gotten a bit of gray hair, you realize that there are few teachers as good as history. "But this time it's different!" is the cry of people that are usually just about to lose a bunch of money.

Read the analysis below from my good friend George Friedman at STRATFOR on the latest new thing, the swine flu outbreak. A few points you ought to take away with you:

• while the situation is serious, it's not cause to become hysterical or irrational
• the way to evaluate the current threat is by benchmarking it against similar historical events
• and as investors, if we don't look outside the worlds of finance and economics, we can get painfully blindsided

These three points are precisely why I incorporate STRATFOR insights into my investment planning. STRATFOR provides the narrative of the future by studying the past. Those of you that got to visit with George in La Jolla know what I'm talking about. If you're looking for context and understanding of tomorrow's global events - and if you're not, you're really in trouble! - I heartily suggest you click here to take advantage of the special offer that George makes available to my readers for a STRATFOR Membership.

There aren't any guarantees in life. But there are good, solid principles that you ignore at your peril. That "there's nothing new under the sun" is a lesson to take to heart.

Your Gray(ing) Eminence Analyst,