Well ahead on Thaksin not returning to Thailand, easing market-moving uncertainty

The question hanging over Thailand was, would Thaksin and his wife board a flight from Beijing’s Olympics and return to face a court hearing on graft charges on Monday August 11? Amid speculation the couple might jump bail, learned through sources that the former PM had not boarded the flight, a fact the bureau quickly confirmed with the Thai Airways booking office. Reuters confirm the story after making a late-night trip to the ariport to get comments from a pro-Thaksin MP who acknowledged Thaksin was not coming back. Portfolio investors who had been selling Thai assets on the political uncertainties were well-served by the scoop and the deep, explanatory coverage that followed. His decision to feel helped push the stock market 3 percent higher on hopes political temperatures would cool after three years of turmoil. Reuters also beat Dow Jones by more than 12 minutes on Thaksin confirming, in a statement read on Thai TV, that he had jumped bail and fled to exile in London. Bloomberg was unsighted.