nigelforbes

February/March/April will never be high season in the North, it's too hot and too polluted.

The Baht is in the news again, in the newspaper whose name cannot be mentioned: Exporters say the strong Baht is hurting exports which is growing too far, too quickly. Three factors are in play: 1) capital inflows or hot money, USD1.5 bill so far this year 2) USD weakness which is making the Baht appear stronger. 3) large scale increases in tourist numbers now that China has opened up. BOT repeated that it is unwilling to do anything to counter market forces, other than smooth out the peaks and valleys in the ex. rate. Any thoughts of intervention in the future, at the current levels, will be a desire to weaken THB, not strengthen it.

Guns are legal in the US yet people still go into a database, there's plenty of precedents. As for fresh ideas.....give us list of the ones you've heard before and I'll make sure not to repeat them here, just for vous! TBH there are only so many arguments in favour or against anything, sounds like you probably heard them all.

I hurt myself in an accident, can I use the 300 baht scheme. No, you farang, 300 baht scheme not for you, why you no understand!

Even if I were to smoke a whole passel full of doobies, I don't think I could convince myself that ganja was initially intended or used as a medicinal herb and I can't see much to support that was its primary use. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_cannabis

No, that's a different 300 Baht.

Not the best analogy in the world but we can give it a try. Cars weren't designed or intended to kill people, that was never their primary purpose. Ganja on the other hand was intended to get people high and that remains the primary purpose. If you wanted a different analogy you should have gone down the firearms route. Guns themselves don't kill, people do, that's why most countries don't freely put guns in the hands of the population, except you know where and look at the good that does. Sooo, should we ban guns, because killing is their primary purpose. Well, lots of people want to ban guns, in some countries they even put gun owners into a data base....OMG they do what, you mean like ganja users in Thailand, well I never!!!

So what's to be done, test everyone to see if they have an addictive personality and if so, put them into a database to ensure they aren't allowed to buy any? Oh wait, that means another database, so that's not good and anyway, testing everyone doesn't seem practical. I know, let's sacrifice those "few" people because they're only the minority, allegedly, the needs of the greater masses will have been met. Hmm, seems a little uncaring but the only alternative is to make it illegal, that way nobody can buy it and the lives of those "few" will have been spared. Nope, can't do that either, that's where we just came from....what to do!

I couldn't agree more, they should hang the poster who dared to ask another for their opinion!

Try and read more carefully. Nobody's opinion causes me any problems, only some of the links that people post to try and support self serving points of view. If anyone wants to have the debate, at a serious level, with serious, professional, mainstream data to backup their argument, I welcome that. BUT, if you're going to debate and then post nonsense links, just to try and win a debate, it's meet Mr Ignore List time.

I would not have expected to find anyone in this forum with an objective mind on the subject of addiction so I'm not about to play King Canute! Somebody asked me for my opinion, I gave it, if you don't like it, tough, that's your problem! Everything I've ever read on the subject, which of late is not that much, tells me that the medical jury is out on this subject and that further research is needed. They do however say that some evidence exists to suggest marijuana use does lead to other addictive stimulants and that certainly supports the things I saw in the 1970's in the West Coast. Now, if anyone wants to post a link to a reliable and widely reputable and acknowledged source of medical information, such as Johns Hopkins standards or similar, I'll be happy to read it and potentially change my opinion. Ad-hoc links by hop heads to their favorite spiritual leaders, will be ignored and posters put on ignore.

Is it nonsense whether I've seen this or is it nonsense that they were?

I don't have strong feeling either way TBH, if people want to smoke it, up to them. I do however think that when a vast majority of countries continue to make it illegal, Thailand might just be going against the flow and this is not what I would call a progressive country.....think gimmick. I also think that countries that have made it legal(ish), also have fairly advanced medical support and rescue services, including mental health support, Thailand does not. Those countries also have advanced and active law enforcement which is a deterrent to people driving or engaging in other risky activities whilst high, Thailand does not. In case all that come across as prudish, I used to smoke in the 1970's and I have seen first hand extensive links between the use of ganja and harder drugs. I confess to missing the occasional joint but I no longer feel I want to partake, if other do, up to you.

Take your pick, there's something to suit everyones taste: https://www.investing.com/news/stock-market-news/top-wall-street-strategists-give-their-sp-500-forecasts-for-2023-2970423

Quite right too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legality_of_cannabis

Hua Hin is a very traditional community, it was the summer home to royalty and still maintains its planning controls. There will be no mass tourism for HH for a while I suspect, no matter how much the chattering classes complain.

I echo the above, brokerage fees are not cheap, factor in exchange rates and it becomes even more expensive. A far better approach is to use an offshore trading platform, preferably somewhere that has a supportive legal framework and oversight. IB may suit: https://www.interactivebrokers.com/en/home.php

I confess I don't fully understand what the situation is, I'm just parroting what another (usually) credible and knowledgeable posters wrote. But that does support what happened in my case. I thought I had bought my policy initially through CIGNA UK but gave a Thai address and residence, all my dealings with them were through the UK customer support team albeit I paid in THB. This year at renewal, all my dealings were with the Thai based CS team and the policy is indeed subject to TIA rules. My assumption was/is that companies such as CIGNA will not sell overseas policies to foreign citizens, who register a Thai address, instead the application is transferred to the local branch of the company.

Speaking as someone who has lived in China for several years and visited much of the country, I can confirm that the best beaches there are on the tourist islands rather than the mainland which can be quite nasty. Hainan Island is the favorite. https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/china-beach/

For those are interested and may not have noticed, the fiscal 2024 budget (Oct thru Sept) has been approved. 3.35 trillion Baht. (US 100 bill.) 5% higher than the previous year Planned budget deficit of 695 billion Baht (3% of forecast GDP) Revenue collection of 2.75 trillion Baht (up by 10%) Public debt to GDP ratio = 61% Note: Foreign Currency Reserves are USD 245 bill as of December (or 50% of GDP). Here's where/how the budget money was spent is 2021 & 2022: https://dmcrth.dmcr.go.th/attachment/dw/downloadW.php?WP=rUqjMT04qmqZG22DM7y04TyerPMjBT01qmIZAJ1CM5O0hJatrTDo7o3Q

This is how I play India. https://www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/funds/snapshot/snapshot.aspx?id=F0GBR04H80&tab=3 But many people like to write off or dismiss China, for all the wrong reasons. The fact remains they are the worlds second largest economy by a significant margin. Not investing in China for bad reasons is a doubly bad idea. The typical recommendation for Western investors, investing in Emerging Markets, is no more than 15% of your holdings. I think there is a very strong case for Chinese holdings to represent a further 10%........perhaps not for the over 70's crowd or the faint hearted.

What is your rationale for a second wave of inflation next year, what will be the catalyst for that, set the stage?

And you know this how?

I was with my Thai bank for over 10 years and kept several million on deposit with them. One day a girl in the branch asked me if I wanted a credit card, to which I replied yes, but not if it means keepings funds tied up to guarantee it. Oh no she said, this one is unsecured plus you get lots of benefits. Sure enough, a short time later the card arrived and has a 300k credit limit. Cool, I thought. Later I noticed my account had been debited 4,500 baht for one years subscription to the card, hmmm! Later I started to reap the many benefits of the card such as collecting points that expire every month, three days before the statement arrives, hmmm! But I have to admit it is useful for making and paying for local bookings and flights, otherwise, it's a waste of 4.5k every year. Convenience factor only. Plus I get my credit score statement every so often, apparently I'm a 10, not that I can do anything with that but hey, it';s good to be a 10.

CIGNA is CIGNA (Thailand) operated under TIA, (Thai Insurance Association) rules. CIGNA (Thailand) is Owned by Chubb. It is illegal for insurance brokers in Thailand to sell policies with insurers outside Thailand.