Cake Monster

I would put it down to the Chinese Rain making Chemicals drifting on the breeze over into Thailand.

Thailand having about 60 % of their Power generated using Gas, has a real issue going on here. Makes me wonder if they will try to obtain some of the " Burn off " that Russia is performing to ease the burden.

Also slowing dramatically, is the number of Hours the staff are working in their Factories. And when the Electricity increases at the end of the Month, we are going to see an even bigger slow down in Exports, and dare I say it, some Job lay offs, as Companies who are already under the cost cosh, will be no longer able to compete

How very sad ! I feel that this will not be the last death associated with this horrendous fire.

This should read " Plus Service Charge and Vat of 7 % on the total accumulated Bill total " The FT rate at present is 0.2477 Baht per Unit On a bill of 952 Units costing 3,983.49 Baht this adds 235.81 Baht to the running total With the same Bill of 952 Units costing 3,983.49 the new FT rate of 0.9398 would add the sum of 894.69 to the Bill running total Thats a difference of 640.88 Baht - no small amount an approximate rise of around 18 % And dont forget that 7 % VAT has to be added to both these sums, thats an additional 45 baht to pay on the new FT rate over the old one as well. The Bills would read like this Consumption 952 Units costing 3983.49 Baht Service charge 46.16 FT rate @ 0.2477 Baht per Unit = 235.81 Baht Sub Total 4265.46 Baht VAT @ 7 % 298.58 Baht Final Total = 4564.04 Baht Consumption 952 Units costing 3983.49 Baht Service charge 46.16 NEW FT RATE @ 0.9398 Baht per Unit = 894.68 Baht Sub Total 4924.33 Baht VAT @ 7 % = 344.70 Final Total = 5269.03 Thats a difference of 704.98 Baht to pay. And that brings me too ....... Are the Meters going to be read on 1 Sept , as many will have half a Month of the old FT rate before the new rate kicks in on 1 Sept If not, this could effectively make the rise in Electric NOT from the 1st September, but from the Date of your previous Meter reading, And as demonstrated above, this could mean a considerable amount falsely added to your September Bill. I hate to think what this will do to the already rampant Inflation in the Country, and the Household Consumers are going to have to pay for the increases twice. Once on their own personal Bill, and again through raised prices on everything from Toilet Rolls to Cars.

The main problem with Inflationary control, is the BOT cannot put up the Borrowing Rate too much as it will tip Thousands and Thousands into NPL overnight. Such is the amount of Household Debt, much of which is secured against bad assets such as Vehicles and Consumers Goods Things will go pop soon .

Whilst I totally agree there should be a higher minimum Wage, the downside of that is that many Expats, and locals would be unable to live in the Country, as costs will sky rocket. As soon as there is a wage rise, everybody and his Dog wants some of the extra Money the People earn, so up go the prices , which causes Inflation. Another huge downside, is that Thai Goods would be more expensive on the World Market, which would in turn mean that people will loose their Jobs as the Country becomes less competitive in Exports. Without the rapid rise in current Inflation being bought under some kind of control, wage rises will just heap more misery upon those that really dont deserve it.

That will be a rise of 16.6 % over the last 15 Months ! The rise in NPL, Managed Loans , and Loans under Special Mention has only just really started to take off. NPL must now be at about 7 %, with a whole lot more under the " Managed Loans " and " Special Mention Loans " categories. The latter two used to mask the real published amount of bad Debt there is in the Country. And as usual, there is no mention of the amount of Debt estimated to be outstanding on the Grey Market. Probably about the same amount owed to high interest Loan Sharks and others.

Not me that deems these Wheels and Tyres to be dangerous. Its the Thai Law.

It is illegal to have Tyres and Wheels protruding past the edge of the Wheel Arches. Deemed to be dangerous.

Well, who would have thought that there would be high Ranking Police Officers involved in such shady goings on.

I guess " contemplating Suicide " is the new remorse statement in Thailand now after it was used by Sai B , the owner of the infamous Mountain B fire in Sattahip

There are very clear signs that the Economy is slowing in our Location. The Factory Workers dont have any, or as much overtime as they did a couple of Months ago. One Guy is saying he may be laid off next Month as his Factory has no work. And these are people with a 13 K Basic Monthly Salary Local Markets are very quiet, with Traders saying the people are just not spending. The Local Village just does not seem to have the Hustle and Bustle of a Month or so ago. There also seem to be people looking for work from Bangkok and surrounding area because their Factories are slowing down. I was led to believe the Household Debt to GDP Ratio was already over 90 % ( 94 % ) several Months ago, with the projection to be over 100 % by Year end. Maybe I am wrong on this, but with the irresponsible lending, I would not be surprised if it was over 100 % This is the main reason the BOT cannot raise the Interest Rate. If they do, so many are over leveraged on Debt, they will be forced into NPL or Managed Debt and Special Mention Loans. And this will not just be the Employees, but the Employers as well.

It was my thought, that there were several issues with this sale. The Land upon which the Building stood was only rented as I understood, and the Building being Illegal, surely cannot be sold. This is without the side issue of Thai superstition and the very bad vibes that this would carry. I would be a lot more impressed if " B " and his Daddy had their Houses, Cars, and every single asset they owned up for Sale, with the proceeds going to the Dead and Injured. This this Sale means nothing. Its just them trying to get rid of the stigma and bad Karma that has been bought down on them through this horrendous disregard for Human Life.

Not one, but two of the Top Economic Guns firing off a salvo of " look how strong we are " drivel. Seems to me that some Bums are getting Squeaky. Are Capital outflows picking up ?

I dont know where and when the samples of this survey were taken, but a Household Income of 50,000 Baht per Month seems very high to me , and 99.6 % were in Debt at that Income.. Most of the Thai couples I know, have a combined Income of around 30-35 K per Month. Household Debt has risen dramatically over the last 18 Months or so, to around 100 % of GDP, with a rise of 13 % in the previous Year alone. This unsustainable rise in Household Debt, is mainly due to irresponsible lending from the Banks and other Financial Institutions, amid pressure from the Gov,t for them to lend in a very slack economy. I know of 2 cases of low deposit ( 99 Baht ) and payback of, in one case 40 Years, and the other 45 Years on property selling now at about 2.1 Million Baht.( slightly different prices ) This is Money lent to people who are Factory Employees, earning a Basic Wage of around 12,000 Per Month, so even as a couple the Income wage is 24 K Basic. The 40 Year payback is at 9k per Month, and the 45 Year Payback is at 5 K per Month. IMO, the NPL rate, and Loans under Management and Special Mention are really going to increase rapidly over the next 12 - 24 Months. The huge amount of Household Debt is one of the main reasons the BOT have not increased the Borrowing Rate to help curb Inflation. In fact they dare not increase the rate, as they are fully aware that any increases at all will have a massive impact upon the Economy in the form of the NPL Etc

When that Bill becomes due for payment there will be a huge Bang And not just on the Fuel Fund Debt.

8 Baht per Unit is not at all costly. You have to take into consideration the cost of Maintenance, the cost of services run off the Electric Etc Nobody in their right mind would supply Electric at cost only to you, as they would then loose Money if any repairs were needed Etc.

I am fully aware that these Noodles are , for some, the only meal of the Day. Noodles + Fish Sauce Noodles + Tin Sardines Noodles + Foraged stuff from the jungle Etc And before the " dont believe people eat like that " Brigade start, the issues are very, very real.

I guess there will be a specially padded seat for him to snooze in during Parliamentary Sessions.

The Bridge in the photo looks a tad more professional than an " illegally built " Bridge. It has possibly become " illegal " due to a short fall in the stuffing inside the Brown Envelopes.

The hole is not even on the Highway. Any person with only half a Brain can see even in the Dark, that this is a Construction Lane next to the Highway.

You are correct in pointing out this band of people that are genuinely poor. And yes ! The way out from under all the poverty is Education. It is my belief however that this is only a relatively small proportion of those who claim Student Loans, and more often than not, these are just the people that deserve all the help they can get through the Loan System, but they are still not catered for correctly, and have to resort to selling the Family Buffalo Etc to make the Education payments.

Its going to be on the new rate of 5 Baht / Unit ( if that is going to be the price ) They can hardly discount the old rate that will not apply

Why Rent. So cheap to buy one.