Beyond the bond market's message

Unlike in the past, when India and other developing markets caught a cold when the US sneezed, the situation is somewhat different now

Outside hardcore market participants, not many people are aware of an ongoing crash in one of the largest markets in the world — the US bond market. Since March 2020, the 10-year US Treasury bond has crashed 46 per cent while the 30-year bond has plunged 53 per cent. It is important to note that this is similar to the worst stock-market losses in history. In 2001, the US S&P 500 index had slumped 49 per cent after the dotcom bubble burst; in the crash of 2008, the index collapsed 57 per cent. This difference is that these equity market