For so long as Britain remains in a minority outside the monetary union, its interests (such as the City of London bond markets) will be fair game for the majority inside it.

ECONOMIST: Britain and Europe

Bill Gross, a fixed-income champion at Pimco, an American asset-management firm, predicted last September that bond returns will outstrip equities until share prices fall to their fair value, that is, until the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at 5, 000 rather than today's 8, 000-odd.

ECONOMIST: Investment: In search of those elusive returns | The

Bonds pay interest based on the expected inflation rate until maturity, plus a fair risk premium over inflation based on the riskiness of the bond.

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