Government Debt

Global bond rout gives Draghi a reprieve

14 Sep 2016

The rise in yields as prices fall makes more German debt eligible for ECB purchases, under its own arcane rules. President Mario Draghi is still, though, running out of bonds to buy. Canny market timing is a poor substitute for a real solution: Germany could simply borrow more.

Mongolia’s hangover needs more than IMF medicine

19 Aug 2016

The nomad state hiked interest rates to 15 pct to defend a plunging currency. An IMF rescue seems likely, and the new government has shown it is willing to take the pain needed. Longer-term, the real cure for its economic ills will be to woo nervous foreign investors back.

Bond market exuberance hangs on UK vagaries

16 Aug 2016

Gilts’ turbo-charged surge is lifting other debt markets in its wake. Global investors care deeply about wrinkles that might help or hinder UK bonds. High on this list is how easily the Bank of England can buy long-dated gilts as part of its asset purchase programme.