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Economy
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2006-09-20 09:09:03-04
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Thai Baht, bonds slump after military coup
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Thailand's currency and bonds slumped after the military seized control of Bangkok from Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. Government offices, banks and the stock market have been shut down temporarily. The baht had the biggest loss since May 15 after army commander Gen. Sondhi Boonyaratkalin sent tanks and troops into the capital Bangkok. The military ringed Thaksin's offices, seized control of television stations and declared a provisional authority loyal to the king Bhumibol Adulyadej. The military said it would soon return power to a democratic government but did not say when. The coup happened while Thaksin was at a United Nations (UN) meeting in New York. Thailand has been ruled by a caretaker government under Thaksin since February amid an election dispute. An April 2 election called by Thaksin was boycotted by opposition parties and later annulled by a court. Thailand's 18th coup is its worst crisis since 1997, when the devaluation of the Thai baht triggered a collapse in regional currencies. The baht dropped 1.2% to 37.71 per dollar at 11 a.m. in Bangkok from 37.26 late in Asia yesterday. The currency is still up 8.8% this year, the biggest advance among 15 Asia-Pacific currencies. The Philippine peso dropped 0.4 percent to 50.32, the Indonesian rupiah weakened 0.3 percent to 9,188 and the Malaysian ringgit declined 0.2 percent to 3.6873. Japan's yen rose 0.4 percent to 117.34.
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