The golden Buddha statues, amulets and lucky charms that festoon Sakuntala Mettawong's tiny Bangkok cellphone shop are not helping business. It's peak time, but customers are scarce at the usually bustling mobile phone bazaar in the MBK Center, which sits on the fringe of a mile-long cluster of gleaming malls that symbolize the rapid growth of Thailand's consumer class. "Business has been very bad. Many shops have left here, some moved to find cheaper spots or changed hands," said Sakuntala, almost drowned out by the noise of bored shop owners playing computer games behind her. "The top phone models are more ... (full story)