Bonds are meant to be boring. Investors buy them because they provide a predictable income stream. Pension funds buy them to hedge against their riskier bets. Prices and yields are usually dull and predictable – yet that is precisely the point.
However in recent months, the gilt market – as UK government bonds are known – has been turned on its head. Prices have been swinging wildly, moving at speeds not seen in years.
Last autumn, when a small corner of the market threatened to blow up the pensions industry, everyone blamed Liz Truss. The former PM’s infamous “mini-Budget” was permanently consigned to history before the ink had dried, and for a time things appeared normal again.
Read More: Bracing for Turmoil: Britain Rapidly Approaching a New Crisis
