Robin Wigglesworth: Why Bonds Are Behind Every Financial Boom and Bust
The Financial Times journalist and author of ‘A Fabulous Debt’ explains how bonds accelerate economic growth but have also contributed to some of history’s most significant financial crises.
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.
We’d love to hear what you think about The Long View podcast. Please take a moment to share your feedback—thanks for listening! https://morningstarcx.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e2nt0hoPwnBbq6O?utm_source=eloqua&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=improvingfinances&utm_content=none_77167&utm_id=40499&utm_source=feedotter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=FO-09-04-2026&utm_content=%5B%5Bpost.post_url%5D%5D&elqTrackId=a3bef7309b544696afb0febf52f97981&elq=8ce5917b40394adfbeedd1e4798c388e&elqaid=77167&elqat=1&elqCampaignId=40499&elqak=8AF5772FA339674D2066481DED35945172D084B4BC04D78B8408F7480EAE3CDAF1B1
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 Morningstar
Wade Pfau: Higher Bond Yields Are a Plus for Retirees https://youtu.be/1qjtK84hea4?si=VexttIwMqZCEa2Ur
Ben Carlson: Exploring Risk and Reward https://youtu.be/gwAF2FcNFhE?si=Mj4wM5j8yUJsg0yW
Jeremy Grantham: ‘Almost Everything Looks More Attractive Than the US Equity Market’ https://youtu.be/JQvzFTXmpoc?si=Geedpvk2TSdzFlrL
If you have a comment or a guest idea, please email us at TheLongView@Morningstar.com.
Follow The Long View on social media:
Christine Benz on X (@christine_benz) https://x.com/christine_benz
Ben Johnson on X (@MstarBenJohnson) https://x.com/MstarBenJohnson
Christine Benz on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christine-benz-b83b523
Amy Arnott on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-c-arnott-cfa-6a1a7331
Ben Johnson on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-johnson-cfa-5a288175
Subscribe to Christine’s weekly newsletter, Improving Your Finances https://www.morningstar.com/newsletters/improving-your-finances
Visit Morningstar.com for new research and insights from Christine, Ben, and Amy.
This episode is sponsored by Vanguard: https://advisors.vanguard.com/engagement/fixed-income
