700 billion, or 17,000 usd per each American citizen is not enough... and knowing the government, their initial figures seldom hold up. Bush needed estimates of 50 billion for the war in iraq remember?

so expect minimums of around 1.8 trillion usd to probably even greater amounts.

don't worry though - the us gov will just keep printing more money that it does not have, as a patriot americans, we will fit the bill.

well, i wont, but those of you who hold onto your greenbacks will.

Edited September 23, 200817 yr by lifeisrandom

thats fantastic news.................if baht goes to 25 per $

1) LOS export dependent economy will get crushed even more

2) oil prices (which are denominated in $US) in LOS (which is oil import dependent) will skyrocket as evidenced by yesterdays $16/barrel rise, thereby casuing LOS inflation to skyrocket, thereby perhaps the BOT raises rates or risk further inflation pain

3) LOS tourism will go down faster than it already has due to less affordability.

Edited September 23, 200817 yr by ozzydom
uncalled for smut removed

When I came to Thailand in 1990 the Thai Baht was pegged to the US Dollar, everybody accepted that an average 25 baht = 1 Dollar .

I have also seen 37 - 38 Baht for a UK Pound .

In 1990 you could open a Bank acount with Siam Commercial Bank, Fixed 90 Day account..... 15% Interest !!!!!!

How times change.

34-35 range now and most likely move to 38-40 by the end of the year.

When I came to Thailand in 1990 the Thai Baht was pegged to the US Dollar, everybody accepted that an average 25 baht = 1 Dollar .

I have also seen 37 - 38 Baht for a UK Pound .

In 1990 you could open a Bank acount with Siam Commercial Bank, Fixed 90 Day account..... 15% Interest !!!!!!

How times change.

Isnt there an old proverb "the more things change ,the more they stay the same"

25 baht to the dollar is just an arbitrary number. May as well say 12 or 4. Your math is wrong in the opening sentence, also. More like 23,000. But like the cost of wars since 1914, or the true national debt if it were ever to be paid off by 2229, choose any astronomical number you wish.

I always wish that britmaveric were right about the future of the dollar/baht exchange ratio, but it is subjunctive, not true, even if my name were Tarisa.

I believe the Thai economy is 1% of the US economy. What happens if the US economy gets pneumonia?

When I came to Thailand in 1990 the Thai Baht was pegged to the US Dollar, everybody accepted that an average 25 baht = 1 Dollar .

I have also seen 37 - 38 Baht for a UK Pound .

In 1990 you could open a Bank acount with Siam Commercial Bank, Fixed 90 Day account..... 15% Interest !!!!!!

How times change.

Isnt there an old proverb "the more things change ,the more they stay the same"

But I'd still like the 15% interest that I was getting in December 1990

Edited September 23, 200817 yr by Maigo6

25 is an arbitrary number used as a bench mark because it was the previous exchange rate.

As long as it goes to 25 or 50, things will be fine.

Yeah, things aren't too hot in the USA right now, but they ain't that hot in LOS either. Ummm...Thailand=Political Instability right now. Demonstrations in BKK, new PM, falling tourism, etc. The Baht is probably going to stay where it's at or drop. I just can't see it going up against the dollar.

well it depends if the us goes into recession

if us goes into recession there will be lower demand for commodities and small economies like Thailand will be hurt more than the us so dollar is strong

if the us economy rebounds than the world's demand for commodities priced in usd will be high and the usd will be weaker than it is now

bottom line though is who knows how much the fed will have spent by the time this is settled ??????

Edited September 23, 200817 yr by lifeisrandom

Will Hit 40-45 before it hits 25

Try to remember this feeling next year at this time.

I predict when the market rebounds, you won't remember the pain unless you really try.

25 is an arbitrary number used as a bench mark because it was the previous exchange rate.

the "previous previous" exchange rate i remember was 20 Baht to the Dollar in the 70s till 1985. old farang "Thai hands" will remember even lower rates (a stronger Baht). i also remember arriving in Bangkok january 1998, called my wife who was already there, blurted out "CAN YOU IMAGINE..." and was interrupted by her "CAN YOU IMAGINE I GOT 51 BAHT FOR A DOLLAR A FEW DAYS AGO!?" she was slightly disappointed when i told her "can you imagine that today i got 52.65 Baht for a Dollar?".

US$ 17,000 per American citizen or US$ 23,000 per American citizen gives you a total number of American citizens of between 30,000,000 and 40,000,000

Or have the septics now invented another new definition of a billion, somewhere between an old US billion and a UK billion?

When I came to Thailand in 1990 the Thai Baht was pegged to the US Dollar, everybody accepted that an average 25 baht = 1 Dollar .

I have also seen 37 - 38 Baht for a UK Pound .

In 1990 you could open a Bank acount with Siam Commercial Bank, Fixed 90 Day account..... 15% Interest !!!!!!

How times change.

wow!!!!!!!! and last week they were offering me 2.75%

US$ 17,000 per American citizen or US$ 23,000 per American citizen gives you a total number of American citizens of between 30,000,000 and 40,000,000

Or have the septics now invented another new definition of a billion, somewhere between an old US billion and a UK billion?

700b divided by

2008 estimate 305,238,000 wiki

= 20 something k usd per citizen

Simple math apparently isn't so simple.

i thought there were 400m Americans. i guess everyone will have to chip in a bit more!

its pretty clear that they are going to get what they want. i think its a decent plan to save the economy. unfair of course for your average American and very unfair to your usd pensioners. itll be interesting to see how it turns out but i doubt their initial quote of 700b will do the trick. paulson appeared annoyed that the senate was even asking him questions!

In American arithmetic, a million is a thousand thousand, and a billion is a thousand million. 23,000 is correct. But with those kinds of numbers - estimated 700 billion of toxic loans to be bought - it could be half that much or ten times that much. It's just green paper, not real money.

Also, I am not a Septic, and Englishmen are not Shitish.

700,000,000,000

divided by

300,000,000

equals

2,333.33

700,000,000,000 - US 700 Billion dollars

300,000,000 - US pop. 300 million

700,000,000,000 divided by 300,000,000 = 2,333.33 US Dollars per citizen, according to my windows calculator. Of course, maybe Bill Gates stuck some funny math in there, that we are not aware of, which is why he is so rich.

It's all gone quiet suddenly

I would like to invite the mathematical guru's above to my bar where you can drown your sorrows over some very reasonably priced Heineken, only 1,000 baht per small bottle (800 during happy hour)

More to the point, the 700 billion is in ADDITION to the national debt already owed. From Wikipedia...

As of September 2008, the total U.S. federal debt was approximately $9.7 trillion[2], about $31,700 per capita (that is, per U.S. resident

So add the bailout and let's call it an even $34,000. I know my check is in the mail. Anybody else pitching in??

Oh crap!!! I just read a little further in that Wikipedia article.

Including unfunded Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, and similar promised obligations, the government liabilities rises to a total of $59.1 trillion, or $516,348 per household."

Ouch!! Sorry, can't help out on this one.

More to the point, the 700 billion is in ADDITION to the national debt already owed. From Wikipedia...

As of September 2008, the total U.S. federal debt was approximately $9.7 trillion[2], about $31,700 per capita (that is, per U.S. resident

So add the bailout and let's call it an even $34,000. I know my check is in the mail. Anybody else pitching in??

No. The outgoing Comptroller General reported that the real US national debt was over 60 trillion.

US$ 17,000 per American citizen or US$ 23,000 per American citizen gives you a total number of American citizens of between 30,000,000 and 40,000,000

Or have the septics now invented another new definition of a billion, somewhere between an old US billion and a UK billion?

Those figures are per American household, not per capita.

US$ 17,000 per American citizen or US$ 23,000 per American citizen gives you a total number of American citizens of between 30,000,000 and 40,000,000

Or have the septics now invented another new definition of a billion, somewhere between an old US billion and a UK billion?

Those figures are per American household, not per capita.

American households do not average 8 to 10 members. Not to worry.

More to the point, the 700 billion is in ADDITION to the national debt already owed. From Wikipedia...

As of September 2008, the total U.S. federal debt was approximately $9.7 trillion[2], about $31,700 per capita (that is, per U.S. resident

So add the bailout and let's call it an even $34,000. I know my check is in the mail. Anybody else pitching in??

No. The outgoing Comptroller General reported that the real US national debt was over 60 trillion.

60 trillion is $10,000 for every man woman and child on the planet. Do you think they will all chip in? I gave at the office.

Hmmm forgo a couple years salary? If I were a yank I wouldnt want to do that....