PRESS DIGEST - Thai newspapers on July 2

BANGKOK, July 2 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading stories in Thai newspapers on Wednesday. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy.

TOP STORIES

- Consumer prices hit a 10-year high of 8.9 percent last month, heightening anticipation the monetary authorities will soon take interest rates off cruise control and shift up a gear to dampen inflation expectations (THE NATION)

- Beijing began its Olympic Games car ban by forcing up to 300,000 highly polluting vehicles off the capital's roads, state press reported (BANGKOK POST)

- Three low-cost airlines -- Nok Air, One-Two-Go and Thai Air Asia -- have cut and rescheduled flights in response to record-high jet fuel prices (THE NATION)

- The government will respect the Central Administrative Court's injunction against the June 17 Cabinet resolution on the Preah Vihear temple, Deputy Prime Minister Somchai Wongsawat said (THE NATION)

- The Corrections Department has decided to ban gifts delivered in person or by mail to inmates in its latest bid to counter the drugs trade in prisons (BANGKOK POST)

BUSINESS

- The Energy Ministry has undertaken to protect taxis from this month's increase in the price of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)

- Consumer confidence in Thailand has fallen to its lowest level since 2005 and 81 percent of online consumers think the country is in a recession, according to the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index (THE NATION)

- Central Retail Corporation Co (CRC), the country's largest retail chain, has approved a budget of 20 billion baht to expand its business in China over two years, double the amount it had been planning earlier (BANGKOK POST)

- Exports to the US should recover well this year after a 1.2 percent drop last year, thanks to the US decision to add three products for tax benefits and extend the period for tariff cuts on 11 products (THE NATION)

- The board of CAT Telecom has awarded a 2.15 billion baht fibre-optic network project to Marubeni (Thailand) despite questions raised by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) over the project's transparency (BANGKOK POST)

** Looking for more information from local sources? Factiva.com has eight Thai sources including the Bangkok Post and The Nation. ($1=33.38 Baht)