There are weeks when capital markets behave sensibly, calmly processing the economic numbers and allowing everyone to get home in time for dinner - or, in my case, get back from holiday.
This wasn’t one of them.
As September gets underway, the UK gilt market has thrown another tantrum. Ten-year yields have climbed to around 5.25%, while the 30-year yield has reached approximately 5.89% - levels we haven’t seen since Tony Blair still had hair and the Spice Girls were considered a serious cultural contribution.
For those unfamiliar with the peculiar language of bonds, rising yields mean falling prices and higher government borrowing costs. Investors are effectively telling Westminster: “You can still borrow our money, but it’s going to cost you.”
And cost them it will....
