But it also means recognizing that good stories depend first on good policies. Already leaders are feeling the push. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has done more harm to the ringgit than George Soros ever could. In Tokyo the government recently created a bank policy board which now includes members from outside the Bank of Japan and publishes the minutes of meetings. Even Hong Kong has felt the need to provide estimates of foreign-exchange transactions daily rather than monthly.
Markets work by receiving, processing and refining information in a never-ending cycle.
Precisely because they can overshoot, the best way to avoid nasty swings of confidence is to ensure their fundamentals are sound and that markets can see that for themselves. It simply is. And those who hope to prosper from the efficiencies offered by the global economy will find that the quid pro quo is less wiggle room for bad policy at home. Among politicians, the talk naturally revolves around the loss of sovereignty. But outside the doors of Merrill Lynch's brand-new retail outlet just up from Tokyo's Otemachi subway stop, we talked to several new customers who all agreed on one thing They were there because they don't trust their own financial institutions.