Thought for the Week: Bond markets — how did we get in this mess?

Hrkn to .. Thought for the Week · Sep 8, 2026 · 11m

The origins of the looming crisis in world government bond markets started forty years ago; recent challenges such as the pandemic and Trump have turned the screw even harder, and in the United Kindom the dogged application of universal welfare certainly hasn't helped. But the current problem of over-indebtedness can be traced back to the 1980s and the introduction of dual capacity in financial markets. This gave rise to the 2008 financial crisis, and the acceptance by governments of their role as a bottomless reserve. However, these governments must now undergo a mindset change from seeing…