IL53: How Bonds Quietly Built the Modern World ft. Robin Wigglesworth

Today we talk with the editor of the Financial Times’ Alphaville blog, Robin Wigglesworth. Robin is the author of A Fabulous Debt - the Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World. He tells the story of the bond market’s beginnings in Venice and how the ability to issue and trade bonds was an essential aspect of its rise to power. Robin explains why historically bond markets and democracy have gone hand-in-hand. Innovations in how bonds are structured and traded also have the ability alter market fundamentals and he explains how this happened with the US junk bond market pioneered by Michael Milken. We talk about likely future innovations and finish with a discussion of current bond market turmoil and the implications for both the Fed and Treasury.
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Episode TimeStamps:
00:00 - How junk bonds changed the market
00:56 - Introducing Robin Wigglesworth and A Fabulous Debt
03:39 - Why ignorance can actually help you understand history
07:50 - How Venice accidentally invented the bond market
12:55 - How bonds helped strengthen democracy and accountability
17:31 - How Britain turned bonds into a global reserve asset
24:43 - Why strong bond markets often create stronger countries
28:56 - Could Europe ever create a true Eurobond market?
32:19 - How the modern international bond market was born
39:39 - Michael Milken and the rise of junk bonds
44:21 - How Milken changed the market he was studying
48:51 - Tokenization and the next evolution of fixed income
49:28 - Why bond ETFs may have actually improved liquidity
55:24 - What Treasury buybacks are really trying to achieve
57:33 - Why Robin thinks the buybacks won’t solve the problem
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