Probably the single most important number in the global economy is the long-term rate of interest established by the so-called “benchmark” yield on the ten-year US government bond. This number, which shot up from 4.7 per cent three weeks ago to 5.3 per cent last Tuesday, largely determines the level of long-
The pressure on pension funds to abandon profit-maximising investment management is still growing. If anything, the stampede into bonds will be intensified by the latest increase in interest rates, which, combined with the rise in global stock markets, has returned many pension funds to technical solvency.