The depreciation of the dollar was one of the market surprises of 2017, defying the predictions of many analysts and economists at the start of that year. Continued weakness in 2018 has led some, including European officials, to warn about possible detrimental effects on growth. They are highlighting what may be thought of as the foreign exchange markets’ “hot potato” ...

Bitcoin breaks my heart. Not because I missed the great run-up (though I did) and not because I fear that the bitcoin bubble will end badly (it will, but that’s not my problem). Rather, it is because I have been waiting for decades for someone to invent a purely digital currency, a currency for online purchases that wasn’t linked to ...

This is going to be an exciting year for monetary policy. In fact, it already is, thanks to Europe and Japan. Investors were taken aback last week when the Bank of Japan bought fewer bonds and the European Central Bank revealed — shock, horror — its language would have to evolve with the euro region’s economy. Both developments, and the ...