It seems that natural disasters are becoming more regular occurrences, and this week, our thoughts go out to the community of Christchurch, New Zealand, which is picking up the pieces after its catastrophic earthquake. The disaster comes in the wake of recent flooding in Australia and Brazil and freak weather in the Northern Hemisphere.
Besides the human suffering, these disasters are a blow to the global economy as it attempts to recover from the financial crisis. And the recovery is also being hampered by soaring oil prices, especially as the Middle East erupts in political upheaval.