Thai Baht May Hit 30 To The Us Dollar

[koheesti]

To-Vegas Vic; Which of these statements do you dispute and why. #1-The dollar is cosiderably weaker worldwide than 10 years ago. #2-U.S. Consumer debt is at a all time high. #3-The U.S. Trade deficit is at an all time high. #4-Mortgage defaults and Forclosures in the U.S. at all time high. #5-1st time in U.S. history than consumer debt exceeds assets owned. #6-U.S. Government's National debt at all time high. #7-U.S. Government's debt financed with foreign interests at all time high. #8-Illegal immigration into the U.S. at all time high. #9-Amount of U.S. dollars spent to finance Illegal immigration at all time high. #10-GWB promised that Iraqi oil revenues would finance the Iraq war. #11-"Real wage" growth stagnent under Bush. #12-NASDAQ remains approx. 25% lower than 7 years ago. #13-Dow Jones finally above levels of the late 90's(took almost 7 years) although factor in inflation and the Dow is still slightly behind those levels. Just some interesting economic banter...BTW, I'm not some "die-hard" Clinton fan, I thought he was mediocre at best but I did study econ in college and was employed in finance for quite a few years. Anyway, whatcha think?

I saw an interview on Charlie Rose with some guy named Milton Friedman and he said #'s 2, 3, 6 & 7 don't matter and that the US economy was the strongest it has ever been (19 months ago - Dec 2005). Maybe he just doesn't know as much as the experts here?

[Prakanong]

"(I still think that we need to explain to these simple folks what happened in Guyana and the sheep mentality)"

I think a lot of people do know about Jonestown but referring it to in such a colloquial manner sets you as exactly that does it not?

Says more about religious nutters than anything else I suppose.

I could use obscure references too but guess what - I bet more non-Americans would get them than Americans.

Anyway back to the Thai economy and exchange rates.

5000 workers locked out of a garment factory in Thailand due to lack of export orders?

Down to exchange rates or cheaper labour in the likes of China and Indiana?

PS: You are no Martin Luther but you may be on a Diet or Worms ;-)

Edited July 11, 2007 by Prakanong

[VegasVic]

To-Vegas Vic; Which of these statements do you dispute and why. #1-The dollar is cosiderably weaker worldwide than 10 years ago. #2-U.S. Consumer debt is at a all time high. #3-The U.S. Trade deficit is at an all time high. #4-Mortgage defaults and Forclosures in the U.S. at all time high. #5-1st time in U.S. history than consumer debt exceeds assets owned. #6-U.S. Government's National debt at all time high. #7-U.S. Government's debt financed with foreign interests at all time high. #8-Illegal immigration into the U.S. at all time high. #9-Amount of U.S. dollars spent to finance Illegal immigration at all time high. #10-GWB promised that Iraqi oil revenues would finance the Iraq war. #11-"Real wage" growth stagnent under Bush. #12-NASDAQ remains approx. 25% lower than 7 years ago. #13-Dow Jones finally above levels of the late 90's(took almost 7 years) although factor in inflation and the Dow is still slightly behind those levels. Just some interesting economic banter...BTW, I'm not some "die-hard" Clinton fan, I thought he was mediocre at best but I did study econ in college and was employed in finance for quite a few years. Anyway, whatcha think?

I saw an interview on Charlie Rose with some guy named Milton Friedman and he said #'s 2, 3, 6 & 7 don't matter and that the US economy was the strongest it has ever been (19 months ago - Dec 2005). Maybe he just doesn't know as much as the experts here?

OK, I put the shovel down, after all the wine tonight I am not going to get that fallout shelter dug tonight, so i'll just have to get a mexican to dig it for me tomorrow. Mid- if you keep on posting those right wing slanted articles this mob is going to turn on you too! Koheetsi- thanks for bringing up Dr. Friedman, if those uneducated or politically blinded folks here really want to learn about true free enterprise economies and free trade, then an excellent starting point would be every word that Dr. Milton Friedman ever wrote. Now back to finish that last bottle of rutheford hill merlot, I'll check back with y'all in the AM for more entertainment!

[warmwater7]

1. The economy is mostly affected by Government policy the central bank then tries to control the currency rates as best it sees fit within the confines of Government current policies. they do that by by setting bank rate and intervening in some cases to support its currency or the opposite if too strong.

2. I know too that the Yen has had problems due to an over blown economy,

3. no current knowledge on the Hong Kong dollar but lets face it ten years ago it was still a western based economy and not part of China, and the currency di go a lot weaker after the colony was taken back into Chinese control.

4. So the facts speak for themselves it is NOT so much a strong Baht but a very weak US $ that is the cause of this phenomena. So if Bush's regime is not to blame what is then, please tell me unless you still do not believe it is the dollar that is weak ???

5. The economy in the US has been mismanaged for some years now and don't believe me just read the serious independent ecomonic press and real expert view. No I am not an expert but have some basis to express my view.

Interesting read 'rayw'.

1. I agree. Any Central Bank [also BOT] is trying to correct what the government did....or not. They're always 'forced' to dance with the present government(s) AFTER the steps taken by the same government...

2. Japanese Yen: That's a story in itself. Many experts believe that the Yen is heavily under-valued by as much as 50% ! We'll see, but the present low Yen could have a completely different look in the middle term, from now. I estimate between 1-3 years from now.

3. Hong Kong Dollar: It was not so much the swap in 1997 from Britain to the mainland of China, but HK mainly suffered from the crisis (started in Thailand) in '97 and SARS in later years. HK had to re-develop itself from a production 'state' into a service, banking & trading center. They did, quite successfully I think.

I know for a fact that Beijing Hi-So people bought/invested heavily in HK -prior- to the 'takeover in '97, especially in the real estate market !

4. I don't think it's just the present US Administration, doing wrong; it have been many Administrations before, too. The US is an over-consuming and under-performing saving nation. That's the biggest problem.

5. I -partly- agree because it's not just since years but decades.

Please allow me to make a special comment related to the latter #4 and #5:

The -once- powerful US car manufacturers lost the complete world-market because of mis-management and poor future views. The EU and Japanese took control and nowadays you hardly see any -original- US cars on the roads, elsewhere in the world.

Yes, there were take-overs and mergers, but were they successful ?

Hmmm...I see enormous advertising and promotion in China for US brands: Chrysler (still Daimler group), Buick and such but the majority of cars in China are still either EU- or Japanese brands, [mostly -joint venture- built in China) apart from local brand cars.

Hopefully the the US learned a lesson.

Sorry for being off-topic a bit, but it's $-related...

LaoPo

IS IT POSSIBLE THE US GOVT HAS DEVALUED THE USD TO ATTRACT FOREIGN INVESTMENT TO ATTRACT INVESTORS TO FINANCE THE GIANT SCREW UP IN MIDDLE EAST, AS NOT TO BURDEN US TAXPAYERS?

WILL THIS CHANGE WITH NEXT ELECTION?

[koheesti]

Can we keep the kool-aid in Guyana, and get back to Thailand?

5,000 workers find factory closed

I've been catching up this morning starting with page 10 and just got to this post. Thanks Mid for getting this thread back on track.

From the link:

The factory closure comes at a time of rising concern about Thailand's export competitiveness in the face of the baht currency's rapid and seemingly endless appreciation against the US dollar.

Despite the appreciation, Thailand's exports rose 18.8 percent during the first five months of this year, to reach 58.74 billion dollars.

But the Export-Import Bank of Thailand warned earlier this week that the export surge was primarily in high-tech items such as electronics, electrical appliances, automobiles and auto parts, that require a large import component.

Apichai Boontherawara, president of the state-owned EXIM Thailand, has warned that the surge in these high-tech exports was creating an "illusion" that Thailand's export picture was a bright one.

[zink]

Here is the real reason for dollar collapse, Thai exporters have nothing to do with it: http://www.forexfactory.com/showthread.php?t=37788

...

When DR Horton announced in the US that it was reporting earnings 40% lower than last year all Markets went on alert, but that paled into insignificance when news crossed the wires at 9am that the S&P were looking to downgrade $12b of US Sub-Prime Bonds. But wait there’s more; at 4pm EDT $5bn of Bond downgrades came from Moody’s, just to add fuel to the fire.

The affect of that move, if it were to happen, would be to force Institutions to have to liquidate positions in these Bonds, as they would no longer meet the rating criteria that are set for most Hedge Funds and Insurers to be able to hold. That would lead to a rapid liquidation of an already unstable Market, and any positive outlook for the housing sector would go straight down the drain.

The Yield on the 10 year Treasury note dropped to the lowest since February, falling 11 basis points, that in turn rocked the US $ as a lower Yield leads to a lower currency; it’s a bit like having an interest rate cut from the Fed.

Both rating agencies confirmed that they do not see the lending situation getting any better and until it does this kind of sub-prime, or ‘no credit qualification’, debt will just keep getting downgrades. A bleak picture for the housing sector and very little that can be done to resolve it, and a very uncomfortable picture for the $.

...

Dollar is sinking against everything, Euro reached all time high yesterday after breaking previous record of 1.3680. Now EURUSD is trading at 1.3750. We are heading to USDTHB = ~30 and EURTHB = ~45

[Freddyrocks]

To-Vegas Vic; Which of these statements do you dispute and why. #1-The dollar is cosiderably weaker worldwide than 10 years ago. #2-U.S. Consumer debt is at a all time high. #3-The U.S. Trade deficit is at an all time high. #4-Mortgage defaults and Forclosures in the U.S. at all time high. #5-1st time in U.S. history than consumer debt exceeds assets owned. #6-U.S. Government's National debt at all time high. #7-U.S. Government's debt financed with foreign interests at all time high. #8-Illegal immigration into the U.S. at all time high. #9-Amount of U.S. dollars spent to finance Illegal immigration at all time high. #10-GWB promised that Iraqi oil revenues would finance the Iraq war. #11-"Real wage" growth stagnent under Bush. #12-NASDAQ remains approx. 25% lower than 7 years ago. #13-Dow Jones finally above levels of the late 90's(took almost 7 years) although factor in inflation and the Dow is still slightly behind those levels. Just some interesting economic banter...BTW, I'm not some "die-hard" Clinton fan, I thought he was mediocre at best but I did study econ in college and was employed in finance for quite a few years. Anyway, whatcha think?

I saw an interview on Charlie Rose with some guy named Milton Friedman and he said #'s 2, 3, 6 & 7 don't matter and that the US economy was the strongest it has ever been (19 months ago - Dec 2005). Maybe he just doesn't know as much as the experts here?

Hmmmmm, I have studied Friedman extensively and what you are claiming contradicts Friedman's theories and writings completely. The basic one(theory) that he and Greenspan(former U.S. fed Chairman) both preached was/is that enormous interest paid on massive non-asset backed debts, has quite a choking economic effect(wasted money, little or no benifit to the macro U.S. economy) 2, 6 & 7 are exactly that. FYI, Friedman passed away last year, I believe he was close to 100 years old when he died.

[nick2k]

well, I am way late into this string. so, I don't know what is exactly going on. ..BUT I do have an opinion about the rising baht and the sinking dollar.

..I hope the dollar crashes.

why, you ask? simple. then, there won't be anymore debt. all this talk about the usa going to pot will be put to the test. and my guess is - everybody will find out that the usa doesn't need anybody else. they can supply all the food their citizens need.

as for china, and the rest of the world including europe that want the usa to fail. well, they deserve the bad stuff coming down their way. they were bombed too. and yet, did they help out with the troops?

what do you think will happen if china doesn't get their money that they socked away in t-bills?

what will happen with india if they don't have the jobs outsourced to them from usa?

the usa is learning who their real friends are.

be my guest, thailand. keep up with the compulsory licenses.

[jumbojimbo]

According to a source at the Thai Stock Exchange (who really knows his stuff), Thais are panicking about the baht rising as the signs are exactly the same as when the Asian crash started in Thailand 10 years ago. Thais have too much debt, interest rates are too high for many who have bought property, the economy is in the toilet, an upcoming election etc - all these things point to a crashing baht in the next few weeks. According to my friend, NOW is the time to sell baht and buy dollars before the baht rises back up to 40-plus to the dollar. The govt and central bank here don't have a clue what they're doing and it's going to absolutely kill the baht and for those of you with savings in Thailand, your money is going to be worth a fraction of what it was a couple of months ago.

I sent most of my savings back to the US yesterday. Got a great exchange rate and now won't be worrying as the baht starts to plummet :-)

[Jingthing]

Yeah, right. It won't be 40 in the next few weeks or I will eat my hat. Maybe over the next several months though ...

[jumbojimbo]

Yeah, right. It won't be 40 in the next few weeks or I will eat my hat. Maybe over the next several months though ...

Jingthing, a crash means just that - it plummets from 30 baht to 45 baht practically overnight (in the Asian crash 10 years ago it went from 25 to 52 to the dollar in a matter of days).

All I know is my friend has predicted many of the financial events concerning Thailand over the last few months and as he's from a very affluent family with ties to many of the top folk in Thailand who are ALL selling baht, I'm gonna go with what he's saying :-)

[Jingthing]

Yes, I know what a crash is. I know all about 1998. This is 2007, not 1998. I don't see it. Good luck! I don't care either way, I am hedged well between dollars and baht.

Edited July 11, 2007 by Jingthing

[LaoPo]

well, I am way late into this string. so, I don't know what is exactly going on. ..BUT I do have an opinion about the rising baht and the sinking dollar.

..I hope the dollar crashes.

why, you ask? simple. then, there won't be anymore debt. all this talk about the usa going to pot will be put to the test. and my guess is - everybody will find out that the usa doesn't need anybody else. they can supply all the food their citizens need.

as for china, and the rest of the world including europe that want the usa to fail. well, they deserve the bad stuff coming down their way. they were bombed too. and yet, did they help out with the troops?

what do you think will happen if china doesn't get their money that they socked away in t-bills?

what will happen with india if they don't have the jobs outsourced to them from usa?

the usa is learning who their real friends are.

be my guest, thailand. keep up with the compulsory licenses.

Let me guess for a while where you're from, ok?

LaoPo

[Old Man River]

those of you with savings in Thailand, your money is going to be worth a fraction of what it was a couple of months ago.

That is kind of how I feel with my USD savings.

[koheesti]

Yeah, right. It won't be 40 in the next few weeks or I will eat my hat. Maybe over the next several months though ...

7 weeks sounds about right to me. Right when I plan to arrive at the end of August.

[bingobongo]

this will be quite nasty when it unwinds...........

Thailand: Thai Baht Rises to Decade High on Carry-Forward Trades

The Thai baht rose to a 10-year high on Tuesday, maintaining an eight-day run of appreciation. The currency reached 33.48/U.S. dollar in onshore trading, standing as a 0.4% increase. In offshore trading the currency rose by 0.3% against the U.S. dollar to 31.58. The increase came after heavy selling of U.S. dollars on local markets. Demand from exporters has fuelled the currency's appreciation in recent days. The strengthening of the currency came as the government announced adjustments to swap contract rules in a bid to reduce the difference between the currency's trading rate in onshore and offshore markets. The central bank will now allow overseas investors to renew baht swap contracts with domestic banks. Overseas investors will be able to cover the exchange rate risk of investments by buying swap contracts if assets were purchased before the imposition of capital controls in December.

Significance: When the currency broke the 36.0 ceiling against the U.S. dollar, the government imposed a series of controversial capital controls in a bid to stem carry-forward trades that have boosted the currency. Portfolio capital has flowed into the country as investors seek to exploit the differential between domestic interest rates and low international rates in countries such as Japan and Switzerland. The appreciation in the currency has fuelled calls for further cuts in interest rates amid fears that the competitiveness of growth-driving exports could be undermined. The leading interest rate has been cut by 150 basis points since the beginning of this year to 3.50%. However, speaking in an interview, central bank governor Tarisa Watanagase scotched speculation asserting that monetary policy adjustments were aimed squarely at managing inflationary expectations rather than steering the exchange rate.

[LaoPo]

Yeah, right. It won't be 40 in the next few weeks or I will eat my hat. Maybe over the next several months though ...

Jingthing, a crash means just that - it plummets from 30 baht to 45 baht practically overnight (in the Asian crash 10 years ago it went from 25 to 52 to the dollar in a matter of days).

All I know is my friend has predicted many of the financial events concerning Thailand over the last few months and as he's from a very affluent family with ties to many of the top folk in Thailand who are ALL selling baht, I'm gonna go with what he's saying :-)

Following the herds could be very dangerous; it could work controversial.

Thai exporters are/were selling $'s big time, also hedged, but that's more likely also because they need Baht, instead $'s; to what extend is difficult to say...but:

For the time being the $ is spiraling down...and down and steering the Baht and many other currencies upwards. The $ is down to a record today versus the Euro..

US & EU Stock markets were sharp down, including Asian markets today. EU markets down for the second day, today.

The main concerns: more bad news about declining housing market in US and UK*, Oil prices and rising subprime mortgage market growing...

* "Personal bankruptcies [in UK, but also US] have reached record levels, and home repossessions are up as consumers struggle to repay their debts..." today from Reuters.

LaoPo

[Carmine6]

Yeah, right. It won't be 40 in the next few weeks or I will eat my hat. Maybe over the next several months though ...

Jingthing, a crash means just that - it plummets from 30 baht to 45 baht practically overnight (in the Asian crash 10 years ago it went from 25 to 52 to the dollar in a matter of days).

All I know is my friend has predicted many of the financial events concerning Thailand over the last few months and as he's from a very affluent family with ties to many of the top folk in Thailand who are ALL selling baht, I'm gonna go with what he's saying :-)

Was catastrophic, but it was months rather than days to hit the 50's. 3 months to 40's and 6 months to 50's. I hope your friend is wrong because I think there aren't many economic events that could flip it that fast. But there are other events that could do it. Even worse, that move could then trigger other not so nice events.

[bkkandrew]

Following the herds could be very dangerous; it could work controversial.

Thai exporters are/were selling $'s big time, also hedged, but that's more likely also because they need Baht, instead $'s; to what extend is difficult to say...but:

For the time being the $ is spiraling down...and down and steering the Baht and many other currencies upwards. The $ is down to a record today versus the Euro..

US & EU Stock markets were sharp down, including Asian markets today. EU markets down for the second day, today.

LaoPo

Yep - USD well down today:

1.00 USD = 31.2600 THB

United States Dollars Thailand Baht

1 USD = 31.2600 THB 1 THB = 0.0319898 USD

1.00 GBP = 2.02968 USD

United Kingdom Pounds United States Dollars

1 GBP = 2.02968 USD 1 USD = 0.492690 GBP

Source: XE.com

[Carmine6]

* "Personal bankruptcies [in UK, but also US] have reached record levels, and home repossessions are up as consumers struggle to repay their debts..." today from Reuters.

LaoPo

Not even close for the US. The US bankruptcy law was changed in 2005 so there was a huge rush to file before that resulting in 2 million non-business filings. It had been over 1 million all the way back to 1996. 2006 came in at just under 600,000 which was the lowest since 1988. This year's pace is picking up a lot, but is still far from a record.American Bankruptcy Institute Link

Edited July 11, 2007 by Carmine6

[BlissfullyIgnorant]

The way I see it, the question is what currency isn't appreciating against the greenback?

For example, here's a snapshot of current mid-market rates:

USD-THB: 31.6796

USD-GBP: 0.496343

USD-EUR: 0.733553

USD-JPY: 123.415

USD-CAD: 1.04588

USD-AUD: 1.16158

There's more than one 10++ year record there, so it's fair to say that we're seeing a dramatically failing US currency, not particular strength elsewhere.

And an update 2 days on:

USD-THB: 30.7753

USD-GBP: 0.492680

USD-EUR: 0.727440

USD-JPY: 121.784

USD-CAD: 1.05978

USD-AUD: 1.16120

[LaoPo]

* "Personal bankruptcies [in UK, but also US] have reached record levels, and home repossessions are up as consumers struggle to repay their debts..." today from Reuters.

LaoPo

Not even close for the US. The US bankruptcy law was changed in 2005 so there was a huge rush to file before that resulting in 2 million non-business filings. It had been over 1 million all the way back to 1996. 2006 came in at just under 600,000 which was the lowest since 1988. This year's pace is picking up a lot, but is still far from a record.American Bankruptcy Institute Link

Thanks for the link!

But, this is what they wrote there too.... :

"Consumer debt is consistent with bankruptcy filings

Research by the Federal Reserve indicates that household debt is at a record high relative to disposable income. Some analysts are concerned that this unprecedented level of debt might pose a risk to the financial health of American households. A high level of indebtedness among households could lead to increased household delinquencies and bankruptcies, which could threaten the health of lenders if loan losses are greater than anticipated. "

The record will come, I'm afraid, (as you said: record 2005) since the warnings about 'Home Depot' an similar industries were severe, yesterday.

On top of that, the US population is amongst the, if not 'the', highest spenders/consumers in the world and poorest savers at the same time.

It HAS to go wrong, one way or another; I've learned that you can't spend money which isn't yours....but I have to admit that the Banks & Governments, worldwide, are the worst 'criminals'....pushing their people to spend and borrow money first...and AFTER they can't pay it back, sue them and take their house away.

It's the way it is.

edit:

ps: related to the above, this just came in from 'Reuters before the Bell' news in New York/Wall Street:

"Welcome to the Reuters Before the Bell news mail.

Standard & Poor's and Moody's warnings on subprime debt are triggering the age-old question: Is bad news a buying opportunity or a reason to run for cover? After hemming and hawing, Wall Street is taking the latter approach, and stock futures are pointing down."

and:

"These concerns, heightened on Tuesday after two ratings agencies issued warnings on more than $17 billion of debt linked to risky mortgages, made investors less willing to take on risk.

LaoPo

Edited July 11, 2007 by LaoPo

[Freddyrocks]

What is it with American extreme right-wingers?

Why do they call everybody who is politicly left of them (including centrists) liberals, and what is it about this kool-aid drink. Maybe fellow US citizens understand this jibe, but, nobody else does. Please explain this obsession of conecting non-right wing people with kool-aid.

It's a Jonestown reference.

Guyana grape juice to be absolutely correct! I just got back from a dinner party and thought I would check in to see if there were any replies, WOW! I don't know if I should start buying all the canned goods I can find and immediatly grab a shovel and start digging in the backyard for a fallout shelter. One thing is for sure I do need another box of kleenex because I haven't been able to stop laughing since I started reading some of these posts, my eyes are watering something fierce. Anyway my wife invited some friends home from the party and she broke out the good merlot, so I'm off to enjoy a couple of glasses of vino and get back here a little later. I was warned that a good portion of the thaivisa regulars were, shall we say a little left of center and their hatered of G. Bush was blinding, but this is really special. As Arnold says, I vill be baaaack!

So Vic, when do you think that the current economic depression in the US will end? Do you think that Hillary will be able to reverse it?

Good morning kdvsn, or I guess good evening if you are in thailand. When I left this thread about 9 hours ago there were 177 posts and I figured that when I checked back in it would be over 200, but instead I see 171, so it looks like a certain super moderator is keeping very busy censoring posts again. What a shame when someone who actually lives in the U.S. tries to enlighten those overseas about the actual state of the U.S. economy it is regarded as an assult on the tunnel vision crew (if I don't see it, hear about it or read it then it really isn't so!) and must be deleted at once. This time around instead of showing the posters name and saying "post deleted" they actually deleted the whole thing, the thinking I guess is that if you get rid of all the evidence then it really didn't happen. Kind of like the tunnel vision that I see here in many of the terribly misinformed posts here. Liberal newscasters and juornalists do the same type of thing in the states, they will take a snippet form an interview and not put it in context and then parade it around to further their point of view (Michael Moore has made a living at it). It is really sad that liberals feel the need to stoop to this, but I guess they are afraid to let the public see all the facts, because then the public can see how extreme and desperate the lefties are. In any event I have always admired your posts and Mids' posts(I see now why he keeps it short and had such a dry sense of humor), and there are others that try and get the truth out and kudos to them. Keep up the good work, I hope that you have a chance to read this before it gets deleted as well!

To VegasVic; If you and others are having posts deleted just because you have a "right-wing" opinion I too believe that's wrong. I would hope that not to be the case. I think a lot of people though resort to name calling, personal slams and assumptive attacks with no facts and only anger in their posts. Could that be the reason for the deletion. I'm fairly new to TV so I'm asking this question in complete honesty not as a accusation. Anyway, have a great day/night/morning no matter which corner of the planet everyone is at!!

[Prakanong]

What is it with American extreme right-wingers?

Why do they call everybody who is politicly left of them (including centrists) liberals, and what is it about this kool-aid drink. Maybe fellow US citizens understand this jibe, but, nobody else does. Please explain this obsession of conecting non-right wing people with kool-aid.

It's a Jonestown reference.

Guyana grape juice to be absolutely correct! I just got back from a dinner party and thought I would check in to see if there were any replies, WOW! I don't know if I should start buying all the canned goods I can find and immediatly grab a shovel and start digging in the backyard for a fallout shelter. One thing is for sure I do need another box of kleenex because I haven't been able to stop laughing since I started reading some of these posts, my eyes are watering something fierce. Anyway my wife invited some friends home from the party and she broke out the good merlot, so I'm off to enjoy a couple of glasses of vino and get back here a little later. I was warned that a good portion of the thaivisa regulars were, shall we say a little left of center and their hatered of G. Bush was blinding, but this is really special. As Arnold says, I vill be baaaack!

So Vic, when do you think that the current economic depression in the US will end? Do you think that Hillary will be able to reverse it?

Good morning kdvsn, or I guess good evening if you are in thailand. When I left this thread about 9 hours ago there were 177 posts and I figured that when I checked back in it would be over 200, but instead I see 171, so it looks like a certain super moderator is keeping very busy censoring posts again. What a shame when someone who actually lives in the U.S. tries to enlighten those overseas about the actual state of the U.S. economy it is regarded as an assult on the tunnel vision crew (if I don't see it, hear about it or read it then it really isn't so!) and must be deleted at once. This time around instead of showing the posters name and saying "post deleted" they actually deleted the whole thing, the thinking I guess is that if you get rid of all the evidence then it really didn't happen. Kind of like the tunnel vision that I see here in many of the terribly misinformed posts here. Liberal newscasters and juornalists do the same type of thing in the states, they will take a snippet form an interview and not put it in context and then parade it around to further their point of view (Michael Moore has made a living at it). It is really sad that liberals feel the need to stoop to this, but I guess they are afraid to let the public see all the facts, because then the public can see how extreme and desperate the lefties are. In any event I have always admired your posts and Mids' posts(I see now why he keeps it short and had such a dry sense of humor), and there are others that try and get the truth out and kudos to them. Keep up the good work, I hope that you have a chance to read this before it gets deleted as well!

To VegasVic; If you and others are having posts deleted just because you have a "right-wing" opinion I too believe that's wrong. I would hope that not to be the case. I think a lot of people though resort to name calling, personal slams and assumptive attacks with no facts and only anger in their posts. Could that be the reason for the deletion. I'm fairly new to TV so I'm asking this question in complete honesty not as a accusation. Anyway, have a great day/night/morning no matter which corner of the planet everyone is at!!

It will not because its a right wing or liberal thing - the posts will have been deleted as they were USA centrist rather than discussing the Thai economy.

Seeing a liberal agenda is paranoid as McCarthy was

Its a moderating issue that can not be discussed.

[Ricardo]

Just a short comment from the front-line ....

Last week, on holiday in Krabi, I was seeing 68+ against the Pound Stg, in the exchange-shops. And going into my local bank yesterday, upon returning home to C.M., I was gobsmacked (Trans for non-Brits : slightly perturbed) to be quoted 66.51. My week-end Fin.Times had quoted the mid-point for the Baht at 68.5041, or 34.03 against the dollar, so the degree of strengthening was rather unexpected !

This hurts, as I had a large (for me) transfer set to move from the UK today, to ensure that I can satisfy the B800k requirements at Immigration in 3 months' time. So I'm now looking at a B45k loss on the transfer - compared to what I had anticipated. Ouch !!

I can only hope that delaying the transfer, and a return to a more-normal rate, after the SET growth-spurt subsides, will come quickly enough for me personally. Or that short-fall will be coming out of my 'luxury-money'.

Meanwhile wouldn't it be helpful, in an ideal world, if the Immigration were to reduce the financial requirements, to reflect the changed world in which the Pound gets 66 instead of 75, and the Dollar 32 instead of 43 ? But I'm not holding my breath !

[Prakanong]

"Meanwhile wouldn't it be helpful, in an ideal world, if the Immigration were to reduce the financial requirements, to reflect the changed world in which the Pound gets 66 instead of 75, and the Dollar 32 instead of 43 ? But I'm not holding my breath "

I am not holding my breath with you either

[figaro]

Returning to the Thai Baht; the obvious reasons for this currency"s appreciation are:

- 'Hot' money flowing into the Thai stock market; just see the meteoric rise of Thai

mutual funds traded on US markets, ticker symbols for these funds are: TF and TTF.

Links are:

TF > http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=tf

TTf > http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=ttf

- Weakness of the US Dollar.

Most Thai exporters are finding the Thai Baht rise is hurting business. The Thai Government appears incapable of reigning in the Thai Baht. Currency manipulations, such as central bank interventions NEVER work.

An obvious solution for bringing down the Thai Baht will be to allow Thais to freely convert the Baht into any currency they choose and invest overseas. In other words; free currency controls. This will result in fund outflows which should bring down the value of the Baht and benefit exporters.

Wonder why the Thai Government doesn't ease currency controls and allow Thais to invest overseas?

Edited July 12, 2007 by figaro

[Losangels]

[Wonder why the Thai Government doesn't ease currency controls and allow Thais to invest overseas?

Collapse of the stock& bond market and the banking system?

[Mid]

SET falls almost 1% at midday

Thu, July 12, 2007 : Last updated 13:50 pm

Thai shares lost almost 1per cent at midday on mounting anxiety if the authority will introduce measure to prevent the baht apprecaition.

The SET index closed midday at 838.60 points with brisk turnover of Bt16.73 billion.

Blue-chip stocks were the center of the selling pressure. bangkok Bank (BBL) fell 1.53 per cent at Bt129, Kasikornbank (KBANK) dropped 2.35 per cent at Bt83, PTT Plc (PTT) plunged 1.32 per cent at Bt298, and PTT Exploration and Production Plc (PTTEP) slumped 1.63 per cent at Bt121.

Finance Minister Chalongphob Sussangkarn will meet with Bank of Thailand's governor Tarisa Watanagase at 02.00 pm. to discuss about the fast pace of the stronger baht.

nationmultimedia.com

the seat belt sign is lit ,

please return to your seats , ensure the trays are in an upright position and fasten your seat belts , thank-you .

[Jai Dee]

Export of low-market commodities affected by baht appreciation

Chairman of the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI) Santi Vilassakdanont (สันติ วิลาสศักดานนท์) says the export of low-market commodities has been affected by the appreciation of the baht. The federation will hold a meeting on the matter with the Ministry of Commerce and the Thai Chamber of Commerce on July 16th.

Thailand’s export of low-market commodities affected by the strong baht include semi-instant and instant foods, frozen products, sports shoes, and accessories. Apart from the baht appreciation, it has been facing tough competition with Chinese, Vietnam, and Indonesia. However, the export of brand-name commodities has not been affected.

Mr Santi suggests that the exporters should reduce their cost of production or find new markets in order to survive the baht strengthening.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 13 July 2007