Thai Markets Tumble on Worries Over King

For the last 26 days the highly revered 81 year old king of Thailand has been in the hospital recovering from a fever, and fatigue. There have already been multiple statements that the king is doing fine and the only reason he is still in the hospital is to regain his strength. However there has still been widespread panic over the kings health and this has caused a tumble in the Thai stock market. Investors are dumping Thai assets in a panic over the kings health resulting in the Thai currency hitting a two-week low. The head of Thailand's stock exchange had issued multiple statements encouraging investors not to panic and advising them to trade very cautiously during this time. The king's illness has also had an effect on a majority of the Thai population. Buddhist Thai's especially revered the king and thought of him almost like a divine being, and many of them have been camping outside his hospital and praying daily for his speedy recovery.

I picked this article mainly because I thought it was very interesting what an effect the kings ordinary illness is having on the Thai people, and their economy. He is so highly revered that the whole country is affected when he only has a fever. I also chose this article because it shows the instability of the Thai economy, and the Thai currency, because it is so dramatically affected when something so minor occurs in the country.

http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/2009/10/15/world/international-us-thailand-king.html?scp=3&sq=Thailand&st=nyt