Associations and class reunionsCaution about Bitcoin grows as jump in global markets avoids crypto

5. Nostalgia-creating and emotional connection. Class reunions evoke a sense of nostalgia and emotional connection to a shared past. Associations can tap into this sentiment by creating opportunities for members to reminisce and reflect on their collective journey. By incorporating elements like storytelling, historical archives, and legacy projects, associations can foster a sense of pride and shared history, deepening the emotional connection within the community.

6. Encouraging volunteerism and engagement. Class reunions often involve volunteers who organize and coordinate the event. Associations can learn the value of volunteerism and member engagement from this model. By encouraging members to take an active role in the association’s activities, associations can tap into their skills and expertise, fostering a sense of ownership and commitment within the community.

By drawing inspiration from the organization and dynamics of class reunions, associations can create environments that prioritize member engagement, personal growth, and a sense of belonging.

Octavio Peralta is currently the executive director of the Global Compact Network Philippines and founder and volunteer CEO of the Philippine Council of Associations and Association Executives, the “association of associations.” E-mail: bobby@ pcaae.org.

THE dollar has defied predictions of a prolonged slump since at least the beginning of the year but top money managers say it’s now on borrowed time as uS exceptionalism wanes.

The greenback is weakening as uS interest rates near a peak and the Federal Reserve’s aggressive tightening begins to take a toll on the world’s largest economy, investors say. That will set the stage for the likes of the yen, kiwi and emerging-market currencies such as the Brazilian real and Colombian peso to strengthen, according to AllianceBernstein and uBS Asset Management.

The dollar’s resilience has confounded bears who had warned that the currency was headed for a multiyear decline following a surge in 2022. But there’s a growing conviction that they may finally be proven right as easing inflation backs the case for the uS central bank to wrap up its rate-hike campaign in the coming months.

“Broadly we would probably assume that the uS dollar has had its peak and there might be room for other currencies to perform better in the latter half of 2023-2024,” said Brad Gibson, co-head of Asia Pacific fixed income at AB. This is because the uS economy will slow and the Fed is likely to start easing, he said.

The reaction to Wednesday’s cooling uS inflation data appear to justify the tide of bearish calls against the greenback. The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index slumped to a 15-month low, with the gauge now down over 11 percent from a September peak.

Hedge funds had been bracing for weakness, as they turned net sellers of the dollar for the first time since March, according to data from the Com-

BITCOIN missed out on a rally in global markets sparked by cooling uS inflation, triggering some caution about the token’s outlook. The largest digital asset last Thursday mostly held losses of 0.7 percent from a day earlier, while stocks and bonds extended gains on bets that an end to Federal Reserve monetary tightening is getting closer.

Bitcoin has stalled this month after a June surge courtesy of a flurry of applications by investment heavyweights like BlackRock Inc. to start uS exchange-traded funds investing in the token’s spot market. Investors are now asking whether Bitcoin’s 83 percent rebound this year still has room to run.

“Bitcoin was an outlier in terms of widespread risk seeking in pretty much every asset class after the uS inflation data,” said Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG Australia Pty.

“To me that’s not a good sign.”

The odds of Bitcoin falling toward $25,000 to $26,000—roughly the zone of its 200-day moving average—are building, according to Sycamore. Crypto analysts flagged speculation that the uS might be readying to sell some seized Bitcoin as a possible reason for its muted post-inflation performance.

“The disinflationary environ- ment coming through after relatively quick interest-rate increases should be good for risk assets, including crypto,” said John Toro, head of trading at digital-asset exchange Independent Reserve. “But suggestions that Bitcoin seized by the uS are being moved around—which served to highlight the risk that some could be sold—hit sentiment.”

The uS inflation rate slid to a more than two-year low of 3 percent, contributing to climbs exceeding 1 percent in global shares, a bond gauge, gold and oil on Wednesday. A dollar index hit a 15-month low, sending ripples through currency markets. Bitcoin and a gauge of the largest 100 digital tokens both lost ground in a marked contrast to the mood across other asset classes. For some prognosticators, it may just be a matter of time before Bitcoin resumes its partial recovery from a crypto rout in 2022.

Crypto fund provider Grayscale Investments LLC wrote in a note that “we would expect lower uS inflation and reduced odds of Fed rate hikes to support digital asset markets broadly over the medium term.” Grayscale argued investor appetite for higher-risk crypto coins could increase, leading to a drop in Bitcoin’s dominance of the $1.2 trillion digital-asset market. Bloomberg News modity Futures Trading Commission aggregated by Bloomberg. Against this backdrop, investors are lining up their bets on which currencies will gain from the greenback’s decline. The yen is seen as a prime beneficiary with bulls seeing catalysts from fears of a uS recession to narrowing yield differentials to speculation the Bank of Japan may tweak its ultra-loose policy in the coming months.

“There are lots of currency opportunities out there at the moment,” said Leaviss. “qu ite a few of the emerging market currencies look cheap.” Weaker dollar EVERY Group-of-10 currency has strengthened against the greenback over the past month. The yen rallied 4 percent in the past five sessions, the Swiss franc rose to the strongest since 2015, while the euro and pound reached their highest in more than a year.

Emerging currencies have also advanced, with a MSCI gauge of such assets up 2 percent this year after sliding 4 percent in 2022. Bloomberg’s dollar gauge extended losses by about 0.1 percent on Thursday.

For uBS Asset’s Shamaila k han, Latin American currencies including those of Brazil, Mexico, Chile and Colombia are likely to outperform. Every one of them has strengthened against the dollar this year, with the Colombian peso advancing 18 percent against the greenback.

Jim Leaviss, chief investment officer of public fixed income at M&G Investments which oversees $366 billion, is shorting the dollar against the yen.

“We like them due to the high yield, double digit carry they offer,” said New York-based k han, head of fixed income for EM and Asia Pacific for the $1.1 trillion asset manager. “We expect a weaker dollar in the second half.”

Lombard Odier’s Christian Abuide also sees the real gaining, along with the Swiss franc, euro and yen.

“We favor the high carry yield offered by emerging markets such as the Brazilian real, which is benefiting from an environment of falling inflation and improving fiscal and external balances,” Abuide, head of asset allocation, wrote in a recent report. Bloomberg News