What I call a "Black Swan" is an exceptional unpredictable event that, unlike the bird, carries a huge impact.

FORBES

The bird scourge hasn't had an economic impact on the Ostend tourist trade yet, which welcomes around 3.4 million day-trippers each year, as well as 500, 000 overnight stays, said Pieter Hens, an official with the town's tourist bureau.

WSJ: Real-Life 'Birds' Remake in Belgium

He includes the 1918 flu pandemic as an analogy to possible bird flu and concludes it would have virtually no impact.

FORBES: Magazine Article

The researchers wanted to observe the impact on New Zealand gloxinia of these disappearing bird populations and so compared the situation on the mainland with that of three nearby island bird sanctuaries where the birds remain abundant.

BBC: New Zealand scientists record 'biodiversity breakdown'

Within the past week, publicity associated with bird flu in Shanghai and surrounding areas has had a negative impact on KFC sales, the company said.

FORBES: China's Bird Flu A Problem For Yum! Brands, Co Says

Masahiro Kawai, an official at the Asian Development Bank, this week urged the region to prepare for a slump in the dollar, the probability of which he compared to that of a global bird-flu epidemic: it is far from a certainty but would have a tremendous impact if it happened.

ECONOMIST: The region's currencies stay strong amid the squalls