Among those selling the split-dollar insurance now under attack by the IRS were planners from American Express, which has a network of 10, 000 advisers.

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Rental car stocks such as Budget and Dollar Thrifty fell considerably since the attack.

CNN: Car rentals, like airlines, hard hit after attacks

But the IRS' attack on split-dollar insurance came months after key congressmen had moved to block the ploy.

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Financial markets shared Wall Street's relief that Brazil was not digging in for a protracted battle over its currency, and there was no sign of a speculative attack against the Hong Kong dollar.

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On August 15th the Hong Kong Monetary Authority pushed interbank rates up to levels not seen since the Mexican peso crisis in 1995, to counter what it said was a speculative attack on the Hong Kong dollar.

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Already, two companies have warned that fallout from the attack will dent their earnings: Dollar Thrifty, which runs the Dollar and Thrifty brands, and ANC Rental, which owns Alamo and National.

CNN: Car rentals, like airlines, hard hit after attacks

This raises big questions for companies such as Boeing, which has recently booked a multibillion-dollar deal to sell dozens of F-15 fighters and attack helicopters to Saudi Arabia.

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