One possibility is that, with inflation and deflation both plausible consequences of a debt crisis, investors are spreading their bets, buying gold as a hedge against the former and bonds as a hedge against the latter.

ECONOMIST: Buttonwood

The trades involved investments to hedge the risks of buying long-term Italian government bonds.

BBC: Banca Monte dei Paschi trades probed in Italy

The finance ministry has barred individuals, non-financial companies and foreign hedge funds, among others, from buying its new bonds.

ECONOMIST: Japanese inflation-linked bonds