Thailand is slipping into stagflation - a stubborn mix of economic sluggishness and feverish inflation - as the international and domestic environments turn increasingly hostile, economists warned yesterday.
Chief among the negative factors would be low confidence prevailing after the December 23 election and a global fall-out of the US sub-prime crisis.
At a seminar on "Thais depend on Thais" yesterday, former finance minister Virabongsa Ramankura said the economic slowdown in the US would send ripples to Europe and this would hurt Thailand's exports.
He said that in addition to high oil prices, the new Constitution also poses a threat to the economy. It could lead to unstable governments, frequent political changes and unstable economic policies. Civil servants and businessmen have been subjected to state interrogation, and they have become inactive. Due to the legal amendments, the more stringent legal system indicates a lack of trust in anybody and this could hinder economic recovery.
He also wondered if Thailand's election would be seen as just and fair, as that would be the key to giving credibility to the new government. In addition, continuing doubts about current legal, judicial and accusatory practices, and whether the Army would maintain power, would make the economy more fragile.
"It's possible that the state of anxiety will last for four to five years," he told the audience.
The baht would remain strong until the middle of next year when stagflation starts to set in.
[via The Nation, Agencies]
Sierra Tangos
- Vietnamese beauty Tianna Ta at Maxim
- After Dark have updated their photo gallery
- Irish Man drugged and robbed from his South Pattaya Luxury Home - Pattaya Police Officers made their way to a house at the Ashford Gardens Estate in the Pratamnuk Area on Saturday Afternoon after the house owner, Mr. Jeremiah McCarthy aged 66 from the Republic of Ireland, had woken and quickly realized that the night before he had been drugged and robbed. He explained to officers that he had picked up two Prostitutes from the Street and invited them to his house for some late night fun. They son made their way to his bedroom and the man was soon rendered unconscious. A much publicized new form of drugging was apparently used by the two women which we will explain in full, for the benefit of others who may get caught out by the same trick. The women had placed medication on their breasts and encouraged the victim to lick this particular area. He failed to realize that he was ingesting a flavorless chemical which causes you to lose consciousness. While he was sleeping, the two women, who may have been assisted by a third party, stole his safe box which contained 150,000 Baht in cash, a laptop computer and mobile phone. Police are now investigating but hold out slim hope of catching the two women and recovering the stolen items. [via Pattaya City News]
- Adobe Buzzword - Adobe has recently opened up it’s much anticipated web-based word processing application called BuzzWord to the public and after playing around with it for a new minutes, I have to say it’s WAY better than Google Docs and other online word processors. Adobe BuzzWord uses some of the newest Adobe technology to create one of the most advanced online word processors ever made!
Adobe called BuzzWord the first “real” web-based word processor because it operates exactly like a desktop word processor with menus and all except that it runs in your web browser. I tested it on Internet Explorer and Firefox and it works beautifully. The impressive thing is that it has a fabulous GUI interface, but runs super fast. It took less than a second for the interface to load up and clicking around does not cause any delays or lag times.
Buzzword is a slick web application that looks unlike any other word processor I've seen. It supports tables, images and page breaks. You can create and store documents online, share them with other users, print or download them. The one thing you can't do is insert hyperlinks in a document. I’m really thinking about starting to use it over Google Docs! [via Online Tech Tips]
- Paddy and his two friends are talking at a bar. His first friend says: "I think my wife is having an affair with the electrician. The other day I came home and found wire cutters under our bed and they weren't mine." His second friend says: "I think my wife is having an affair with the plumber. The other day I found a wrench under the bed and it wasn't mine." Paddy says: "I think my wife is having an affair with a horse." Both his friends look at him with utter disbelief. "No, I'm serious. The other day I came home and found a jockey under our bed."
- Q: What's the difference between love and herpes?
A: Herpes lasts forever.
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