Thai PM Paetongtarn pleads for stability to stimulate economic revival

BANGKOK -- Thai Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra blamed political upheaval on Thursday for derailing the economy, taking a long-term view of the nation's economic challenges in her inaugural address to Parliament, even as she faces legal hurdles that threaten her nascent government.

Paetongtarn's speech, the official start of business for her new cabinet, comes as no small relief for Southeast Asia's second-largest economy. Elected in mid-August and sworn in on Friday, the new prime minister inherits an economy plagued by stagnant incomes, high debt and living costs, an aging workforce and declining productivity.