The News Review:

- Forex – Dollar hits new 3-year lows vs yen on US economic, credit…
- Forex reserve cross $6 bn mark first time on increased aid, sale…
- FOREX: ABCON set up committees to tackle growth challenges
- ASIA: Asian stocks rise on insurers’ rescue plan
- Ailing greenback takes fresh drubbing
- NT dollar registers best month since October 1998
- BOT and ministry will ride the baht

Forex – Dollar hits new 3-year lows vs yen on US economic, credit…
Forbes – Mar 2, 2008
29 billion dollar quarterly loss largely because of steep declines in the value of a portfolio of contracts known as credit default swaps. These contracts, which pledge to cover missed payments on 579 billion dollars of debt, lost more than 11 billion dollars in value during the fourth quarter because of the perception that the insured debt is less likely to be repaid. ‘The anxiety about the credit crisis is becoming even stronger than before,’ said RyoheiMuramatsu, head of Group Treasury Asia of Commerzbank in Tokyo.

Forex reserve cross $6 bn mark first time on increased aid, sale…
Free with registration – UNB – United News of Bangladesh – AccessMyLibrary.com – Mar 2, 2008
Dhaka, Mar 2 (UNB) – The countrys foreign exchange reserve crossed US$ 6 billion mark for the first time, backed by substantial increase in foreign aid coupled with sales proceeds of major shares of troubled Oriental Bank. In addition to common factors like robust remittance, the forex reserve rose to the level due mainly to substantial inflow of Asian Development Bank (ADB) and about US$ 50 million of Oriental Bank sales proceeds, a senior Bangladesh Bank executive told UNB today (Sunday).

FOREX: ABCON set up committees to tackle growth challenges
Vanguard – Mar 2, 2008
The online version of the newspaper is updated when the print edition hits the streets. , Association of Bureaux De Change Operators of Nigeria (ABCON) last week moved to satisfy the yearnings of its members for a comprehensive review of its constitutions and electoral procedures as it inaugurated a constitution review committee and an electoral committee. All rights reserved.

ASIA: Asian stocks rise on insurers’ rescue plan
Taipei Times – Mar 2, 2008
Electronics exporters and insurance firms with hefty overseas investment suffered owing to fears of forex losses resulting from the firmer New Taiwan dollar. However, “the currency gains served as catalyst for local construction firms and those holding large real estate [stocks],” Chao said. Bellwether electronics and financial stocks lost steam on fears of forex losses owing to the strong performance of the Taiwan dollar recently. TOKYO
Share prices slumped more than 2 percent as losses on Wall Street, a stronger yen and soaring oil prices spooked investors. Dealers said markets were rattled by downbeat comments from US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, while a raft of Japanese data failed to ease market concerns about the health of the domestic economy. The Nikkei-225 index fell 322. 4 points to 13,603.

Ailing greenback takes fresh drubbing
Taipei Times – Mar 2, 2008
Policymakers slashed the fed funds rate by 225 basis points since September to 3 percent in a bid to kickstart flagging economic growth. “The dollar can’t seem to catch a break,” said.

NT dollar registers best month since October 1998
Taipei Times – Mar 2, 2008
1930 on Friday in Kuala Lumpur, taking the monthly rally to 1. 3 percent, data compiled by Bloomberg show. The New Taiwan dollar this month strengthened 4 percent to NT$30. 95, Taipei Forex Inc said. The ringgit may rise to 3. 18 by the end of the month, Hayashi said. Traders see a 36 percent chance the Fed will cut its benchmark rate to 2.

BOT and ministry will ride the baht
Nation Multimedia – Mar 2, 2008
"Since we held an election and got a new government, the policy direction has become clearer. The Finance Ministry has also taken action to support the BOT in overseeing the baht via its public-debt management office," Tarisa said. The government now has more powerful tools at its disposal to influence currency movements, while before conditions were not conducive to removing capital measures due to the lack of legal power to deal with volatility in the forex market. The export sector has been the only engine of growth for the economy, so authorities needed to be cautious to avoid causing undesirable impacts, she said. However, the economic outlook is now better and figures for imports and exports, government expenditures, investment and consumption for the last quarter of 2007 show that the time is now ripe to unbridle capital flows, she said. Tarisa insisted that the central bank had not acted under pressure from politicians. The Thailand Development Research Institute has forecast that the baht will appreciate by Bt1 per US dollar due to the unfreezing of reserves.