Thailand is heading into an economic crisis and we have the details

You are looking at the complete Bulldog Edition of Fishwrap for Saturday, May 4.

Hope you have something pleasant planned for the weekend?
  

Adam and Eve were the first ones to ignore the Apple terms and conditions.
  

The weather has been scorching, sultry; sizzling, sweltering, stifling, searing and steaming. I think that just about covers it. Or to use the official terminology, "bloody hot".
-- Roger Crutchley, Sunday columnist

The prescient May Day Labour sign in front of Government House reads: Prices of goods go up, wages down.
Just a few days ago, the Ministry of Finance (MOF) lowered its 2024 GDP growth projection from 2.8 percent to 2.4 percent, citing blah, blah, blah.
Official Q1 GDP data will be released by the National Economic and Social Development Council (NESDC) around mid-May.
 Prepare for a shock.

OPINION OPED ECONOMY
Thailand's best-known (and best) freelance economist Chartchai Parasuk explains Why the economy is heading for a crisis. Which it is.
There is no need to argue that Chinese products are both cheaper and better.
 Imports from China rose from 9.3 percent of GDP in 2019 to 13.8% of GDP in 2023, causing the trade deficit gap to double from 676 billion baht to 1.295 trillion baht.
 The situation will get worse in 2024.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/opinion/opinion/2785527/

THAILAND GLOBAL WARMING ECOLOGY
In the race to zero emissions, Thai business and government both are looking at EVs, and how to run them: batteries or hydrogen.
PHOTO: At the Fuel Cell Systems booth at the Hannover Messe 2024 trade fair, a hydrogen refuelling station.

Thailand's EV3.5 policy currently prioritises price parity incentives to accelerate the adoption of EVs (electric vehicles) and draw investors to make the country the automotive hub of the region.
 Authorities are simultaneously exploring the potential of hydrogen as a sustainable alternative for the transport sector.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/motoring/2786234/

HEART-WARMING
Saudi man's odyssey to find his former nanny
Late last century, the Saudi Arabian child Ali Bokhari had a Thai nanny who cared for him when he was a child.
Now 33 and with almost no clues, Ali set out from his home to try to find the former maid, just to say 'thanks' for caring for him and his siblings.
And find her he did -- 77-year-old Banyen Thongchaithanawayu of Nakhon Ratchasima (Korat) province.

Above: Ali and his brother in 1993, with the nanny they loved. Photo below: The duo, matched up in Nakhon Ratchasima.
Ali tracked her down through a phone that his father had bought for the Thai maid in 1994. She never threw it away and it finally rang two weeks ago -- a nice hotel manager in Pattaya was calling to get her address. Ali rented a car, and the rest was joyful.
The moment they saw each other, Ali ran to hug her. Both had tears in their eyes. The ex-nanny even cooked for Ali, just like she used to, in Saudi Arabia.

Leafs improbably take Boston to Round 1 Game 7 on Sunday morning, or Saturday night Ottawa time.
Toronto beat the Bruins 2-1, for their second one-goal win in a row in front of screaming fans at Scotiabank.
Goalie Joseph Woll (GAA 1.0) and often absent William Nylander (PHOTO; both T.O. goals) were First and Second Stars.

https://www.nhl.com/news/boston-bruins-toronto-maple-leafs-game-6-recap-may-2
All-time Leafs' goal-scorer American Auston Matthews won his second sick day in a row and didn't show up to play in the must-win Game 6. You can tell by looking at him, eh? Right, but is he contagious? He looks peaked.
Sunday morning's (0700) winners will next play the Panthers, in Sunrise, Florida, after they ousted Tampa Bay in five.

NOTABLE ENTERTAINMENT HISTORY
Judy Collins Turns 85: https://t.ly/y9tmR

CANADA CENSORSHIP TERRORISM
Vancouver police briefly arrested a 44-year-old anti-Jewish supporter of terrorism on a charge of hate crime -- but released her on her solemn promise not to speak or attend pro-terrorist rallies for the next five months.
Charlotte Kates believes Hamas and other terrorist groups are heroic and brave -- particularly the PFLP, Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, which was the first Mideast terrorist group to attack Thailand, in 1972.
Police say she solemnly promised to avoid rallies and speeches until October 8, when she must appear in court to try to defend her pro-terrorist crusade.
The Canadian Press: https://shorturl.at/adoE3

USA TERRORISM
Saving Hamas
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration working on a plan to admit hundreds of thousands of unlimited 'Palestinians' from Hamas areas.
The programme will require (almost) zero paperwork and will provide instant green cards, cash for 'housing assistance' and direct paths to U.S. citizenship.
No political screening will be required to identify Jew haters, blood feuders or outright terrorism supporters.
U.S. POLICY: Not all Gazans support Hamas, just 70 percent-plus.
https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/article288202270.html

USA POLITICS
This is the 'third party disruptor' of the coming presidential election of November 5.l
2005 Video of RFK Jr. Resurfaces, In Which He Calls People Living in Red States Murderous, Sexually Promiscuous Pornography Abusers
 Kennedy, in a 2005 speech, characterised red state residents as morally inferior, linking them with higher incidences of crime and other social issues.
https://mxmnews.com/article/5e8f2796-fbcf-47f5-b834-5de5c66ec8cf?rfk-jr-red-state-people-are-more-likely-to-murder-you

Aides, press need to 'pause' covering for Biden's age
White House aides now surround the president as he walks across the South Lawn to his presidential helicopter; all for the purpose of disguising his shuffling walk.
There was a time in American life where the White House and the press colluded to hide the infirmities or indiscretions of the sitting president: Woodrow Wilson’s stroke; Franklin Roosevelt’s wheelchair; John F. Kennedy’s chronic back pain (and philandering). It’s past time for this White House to accept that that time is over.
https://www.heraldnet.com/opinion/bret-stephens-aides-press-need-to-pause-covering-for-bidens-age/
original: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2024/04/24/opinion/thepoint/biden-speech-pause-covering-for-bidens-age/

Well, boy, howdy. Knock us over with a feather!
Surprise! Soros D.A. and Trump Persecutor Alvin Bragg Might Not Prosecute Team Hamas-Columbia University Rioters For Rioting
 On Wednesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg refused to say whether he will prosecute the pro-Palestinian rioters who broke into and took over Hamilton Hall at Columbia University.

USA OPINION OPED ECONOMY
Biden's "Miracle Economy" Is Straight-Up 1970s Stagflation
 (Trump is the biggest job-losing president in history, you know.)
Welcome Back, Carter: https://t.ly/_BW0Z
Reminder from Investopedia
Stagflation is a unique economic phenomenon that involves slow growth, high unemployment, and elevated inflation and is particularly difficult to address as solutions for one issue can exacerbate the others.

TECHNOLOGY
After years of telling motherboard makers to set PL1 = PL2, Intel now says not to do that, and also that it never said to do that. (AnandTech)
On Intel CPUs, PL1 is the long-term power level; PL2 is the short burst power level.
Of course, if you throttle the chips back to the official official power limits, all the existing benchmark results become fairy tales.
So if you're looking for a high-end CPU right now, go AMD.

TSMC is preparing an 8x retical super carrier interposer for 2026. (AnandTech)
We also don't know, but apparently it involves cows. There's a provided picture.
https://www.anandtech.com/show/21375/tsmc-readies-8x-reticle-size-super-carrier-interposer