In 'A Fabulous Debt,' Robin Wigglesworth, a Financial Times columnist, argues that the bond market deserves more respect. Bonds are IOUs, less glamorous than stocks, but Wigglesworth portrays them as indispensable. He writes that the bond market is the world’s cleverest economist and finest scientist.
There are no bad bonds, only bad prices, he suggests. Even U.S. Treasurys, considered the safest, carry risk depending on yield and maturity. The book traces bond history from 12th-century Venice to 21st-century America.
Familiar names like Alexander Hamilton, Jay Cooke, the Rothschilds, John Maynard Keynes, and Michael Milken appear alongside lesser-known figures like Sampson Gideon. Chaplin promoted Liberty Bonds in 1918. Wigglesworth covers mortgage-backed securities and the 2007-09 crisis.
He borrows the title from Lord Macaulay, who mocked debt worry. The book is an affectionate defense of bonds.
Source: Wall Street Journal Markets · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing