(Marsha Vande Berg is director of MJGlobal Insights, a resource for corporate and fund decision-makers when shaping their dynamic sustainability stakeholder narratives. The former CEO of the Pacific Pension & Investment Institute, Marsha has worked with pension executives worldwide. A Stanford University Distinguished Careers Fellow and author of MJGI Briefs, you can reach her at linkedin.com/in/mjvb and follow her @MarshaJVB.)

By Marsha Vande Berg

As I write this, the Bank of Japan (BOJ) has just announced that it will stand pat on its monetary policy. In the initial reaction, the yen/$ dropped three points to 131.2. The ten-year JGB dropped from 0.506% yesterday to 0.380%, but it remains to be seen whether that is due to BOJ intervention in the bond market. I will wait to see more of the the market reaction before commenting.

TOWARDS A MODERN MONETARY POLICY.

If you think the case for central banks holding cryptocurrencies in their reserves is farfetched, think again. They are already making detailed preparations.

Despite strengthening relative to the U.S. dollar in recent weeks, the currency’s real value is at a 50-year low.

A weaker dollar, falling interest rates, lower inflation and oil prices are offering a welcome, albeit temporary relief to emerging markets.

Demonization and its economic consequences, and a peek ahead to the 118th Congress

The dollar has reversed its seemingly inexorable rise, with the weighted average dollar index falling from its 10-year high at the end of September. While it is too early to detect a trend, this development, alongside a softening of interest rates, is a welcome reprieve for emerging markets and low-income countries.

“October Inflation At A 40-Year High” read the headlines. If this really were representative of overall inflation trends, it would put additional pressure on the Bank of Japan (BOJ) to raise interest rates in order to slow an overheating economy. But it reminds me of the line from the movie Absence of Malice: accurate but not true.

A reckoning in the digital asset industry that started in June after the collapse of improperly collateralized investment assets gained new urgency in November. Following the professional and possibly legal improprieties that led to bankruptcy and chaos at the FTX cryptocurrency exchange, the industry is regrouping and putting distance between legitimate market participants and the grifters.