The News Review:

- Forex – US dollar off early highs in Asian trade on profit-taking
- Avis Europe sees French trading affected by forex, eco-tax
- Forex – Dollar recovers slightly but market nervous ahead of Fed…
- FOREX: Ringgit Opens Slightly Higher Against US Dollar

Forex – US dollar off early highs in Asian trade on profit-taking
Forbes – Mar 18, 2008
Goldman Sachs, the world’s largest investment bank, reported Tuesday fiscal first-quarter results well above Wall Street projections, while Lehman Brothers reported a profit for the fiscal first quarter and convinced the market that its liquidity is not under threat. These results helped soothe anxiety about the credit crisis, because there was speculation that Lehman Brothers could become the next victim of the credit crisis after Bear Stearns. ‘The better-than-expected Lehman and Goldman first-quarter earnings reports resulted in a massive relief rally on Wall Street and the sudden surge in investor confidence left long Swiss franc and yen positions in the lurch,’ said John Noonan, an analyst at Thomson IFR Markets. Also Tuesday, the Federal Reserve cut its benchmark fed funds rate by 75 basis points to 2.

Avis Europe sees French trading affected by forex, eco-tax
Forbes – Mar 18, 2008
At a news conference in Paris, Avis France chief Jan Loning said the weakness of the dollar and the sterling would penalise foreign clients. Group CEO Pascal Bazin said the French government’s eco-tax system, which imposes surcharges on cars with higher emissions and rebates on lower-emission cars, was introduced ‘without any preparation’ and would lead to a ‘heavy impact’ on Avis’s fleet costs. At the same time, Bazin said Avis expects to continue to grow in Europe and in France. He also said Avis is profitable in France, as is Europe as a whole.

Forex – Dollar recovers slightly but market nervous ahead of Fed…
Forbes – Mar 18, 2008
Markets are now betting that the Fed will cut interest rates by as much as 100 basis points and there is a great deal of nervousness about the potential impact on financial markets if they fail to deliver. ‘The scope for genuine panic if we do see such a significant culling of rates could lead to a very choppy few hours on the back of the announcement,’ said James Hughes, analyst at CMC Markets. With little of note out of the euro zone today, markets will also keep a close eye on earnings news, particularly on results from Goldman Sachs (nyse:.

FOREX: Ringgit Opens Slightly Higher Against US Dollar
Bernama – Mar 18, 2008
dollar today on further weakening of the greenback ahead of U. Federal Reserve meeting later today.