Today’s guest on The Long View is Robin Wigglesworth. Robin is the editor of the Financial Times finance blog, Alphaville. He’s also the author of Trillions, which is the definitive book on the past, present, and future of passive investing. Robin’s joining us today to discuss his latest book, A Fabulous Debt, which is a history of the bond market. The history of the bond market is marked by war, peace, market mania featuring a very colorful cast of characters, and so much more. Robin is such a brilliant writer that he really brings every aspect of a history to life. One of the highlights of the show was when he was talking about the huge amount of capital spending we’re seeing in artificial intelligence and how it parallels the railroad boom in the 19th century. He made the point that debt-fueled capital spending sprees tend to end quite badly, although the scale of capital investment in AI this time around is still quite a bit smaller. As Robin points out, history rarely repeats, but often rhymes, and we might be living through one of those rhyming moments today.

Episode Highlights

00:00:00 Why the History of Bond Market Matters

00:09:38 Venice and the Birth of Bonds

00:16:34 How Britain Shaped America’s Financial System

00:24:48 The Poyais Bond Scam

00:30:13 Railroad Capex and AI Spending

00:37:08 Jay Cooke and The Father of Junk Bonds

00:41:55 The Rise of Credit Ratings

00:47:07 How Bond Markets Replaced Banks

00:57:11 How Much Debt Can the US Carry?

More From The Long View

Wade Pfau: Higher Bond Yields Are a Plus for Retirees

Ben Carlson: Exploring Risk and Reward

Jeremy Grantham: ‘Almost Everything Looks More Attractive Than the US Equity Market’

If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com.

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Robin Wigglesworth: Why Bonds Are Behind Every Financial Boom and Bust

The Long View

Robin Wigglesworth: Why Bonds Are Behind Every Financial Boom and Bust