Although the first quarter of 2008 ended on March 31, it wasn't until last week that the Federal Reserve Bank finally finished tallying all of the data and released its obligatory report on the performance of the Dollar. On a trade-weighted basis, the Dollar declined 4%, a figure which accounts for a whopping 11% decline against the Japanese Yen and an 8% decline against the Euro. According to the Fed's analysis, January was relatively kind to the Dollar, as traders remained uncertain as to how the credit crisis would affect the US economy. An outpouring of negative data in the next 4-6 weeks sent the Dollar spiraling downward, although it recovered at the end of March, as the Fed moved to build liquidity in the financial markets. The Fed also noted that it did not intervene in currency markets during the first quarter, firmly putting to rest rumors to the contrary. Forbes reports:There had been intermittent discussion in the markets of a coordinated foreign exchange intervention by the G-3 central banks, but the Fed report confirmed officially what markets already realized.

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The US Federal Reserve Bank is known for ambiguity and vagueness. The Bank of England, it appears, is not trying to emulate this approach. The Bank put an end to speculation about its near-term monetary policy by announcing that it does not plan to cut interest rates for at least two years. Apparently, inflation has breached the Bank's 2% target, and its internal models are forecasting that it won't be until 2010 that price inflation returns to a more palatable rate. This is bad news for the British economy, which is in the throes of an economic downturn precipitated by the housing crisis and would surely benefit from a loosening of monetary policy. By extension, the British Pound should also suffer a "correction," as a combination of inflation and lack of suitable investment opportunities will send investors rushing for the exits. The Financial Times reports:Mr King contrasted his position – and its focus on controlling inflation – with that of Ben Bernanke of the US Federal Reserve. “We did not fall prey to the sirens to cut interest rates further as some other central banks have done,’’ he said.

Read More: No interest rate cut for two years, Bank warns

I spent some time over the weekend scanning through the Fortune 100 Fastest Growing Companies for 2007 for companies that interest me. I would look at the company’s business, recent sales and earnings, and future earnings projections. No calculator, just an eyeball on growth rates vs. PE. It was interesting, since the list was compiled in mid 2007, how many companies on the list had had recent earnings set backs. While going through the list I noted some personal likes and dislikes of company attributes that cause me to look favorably or unfavorably on a stock.

Some of my dislikes:

* Companies that have business selling to other companies. There is something about a company that is reliant on another company or industry to manufacture good products and sell them profitability that I avoid. Even if the company is the best around and well run, bad economics or management by their customers can seriously affect the suppliers bottom line.

* Faddish retail companies. Clothing lines, beverages and restaurants. These can all lose ground to the next hot item if they do not come up with the next hot item themselves.

* I have a tendency to avoid all health care and pharmaceuticals. Although health care sucks up a huge portion of the U.S. GDP, I just feel the whole thing is propped up by ever increasing costs that will someday collapse. I am probably entirely paranoid here, but I do not invest in this area.

* Fast growing companies with no earnings set off warning bells in my head. It is my belief that it is easier for a company with hot products or in a hot sector to grow revenues than earnings. A hot company has to start bringing significant dollars to the bottom line before I get interested.Some of my preferences:

* I gravitate to companies with market capitalization between $500 million and $2 billion, plus or minus. I believe companies this size are big enough to have established themselves, but too small for most of Wall Street to have found. Often they have between 1 and 4 analysts following them and good information is hard to find. Maybe I can find a nugget of news that shows me the market has miss-valued the stock.

* I like industries with products people and business must have: Energy, transport, gambling, banking., infrastructure. Well run companies in these business can often count on a certain built in customer base and work to maintain or improve margins.

* I get interested in a company that has a business or niche I have not previously heard of. This might be a company that has carved out a profitable niche by offering a unique product or service.

I will read deeper to see if there is more to get interested in.Once I find a company of interest I usually add it to my Watch List. At some point I will come back to it and dig deeper into finances and their story. It may be the next day or weeks down the road. Right now energy companies are hot and anything to do with home construction is not. I have some of both on the Watch List to get back to as market conditions change. When I review deeper I may keep a stock on the list, remove it because I do not find a compelling reason to keep monitoring it, or move it to one of the portfolios I track here. One thing I try to keep in mind is that prospects change for companies, sectors and markets and it is important to keep options open.by Tim Plaehn, published at www.gracecheng.com