http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/thailand/2006/12/23/ An independent perspective on the Australian and global investment markets Mon, 22 Mar 2010 11:41:53 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8 hourly 1 http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/thailand/2006/12/23/comment-page-1/#comment-455 geomark Sat, 23 Dec 2006 07:02:10 +0000 http://www.dailyreckoning.com.au/thailand/2006/12/23/#comment-455 Fun read. But it's easy to forget that if your market is big enough it can be left alone and free market forces will generally benefit everyone (e.g. U.S., Europe). But a tiny market, like Thailand's, can be obliterated quickly by just a handful of foreign investors. A 16% rise in the value of the baht in just a couple of months threatened to shutter dozens of the largest employers in the country who are primarily exporters. Thousands of people suddenly unemployed in such a small economy means a great deal of suffering for the benefit of a handful of foreign investors. The Thai government's approach was clumsy, for sure. But the need to reduce the volatility of the Thai baht was there. Fun read. But it's easy to forget that if your market is big enough it can be left alone and free market forces will generally benefit everyone (e.g. U.S., Europe). But a tiny market, like Thailand's, can be obliterated quickly by just a handful of foreign investors. A 16% rise in the value of the baht in just a couple of months threatened to shutter dozens of the largest employers in the country who are primarily exporters. Thousands of people suddenly unemployed in such a small economy means a great deal of suffering for the benefit of a handful of foreign investors. The Thai government's approach was clumsy, for sure. But the need to reduce the volatility of the Thai baht was there.

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