Robin Wigglesworth, a Norwegian financial journalist at the Financial Times, has published « A Fabulous Debt », a book tracing 1,000 years of bond market history. The work covers America’s financial rise from Alexander Hamilton to the Erie Canal, including how the war against Napoleon was financed through Britain’s bond markets. Wigglesworth warns about America’s $40 trillion national debt and the growing fragility of the Treasury market, where hedge funds have replaced foreign central banks as primary buyers. The repo market, which ballooned from a few trillion dollars in 2008 to over $12 trillion, underpins the entire global financial system while presenting increased systemic risks. Wigglesworth cites Warren Buffett, who warned at Berkshire Hathaway’s 2020 annual meeting that Treasury market disruptions trigger contagious fear across the entire banking system.
Source: Read the original article
