Germany sold 4.17 billion euros of negative interest rate two-year German bonds drew the strongest demand since a January sale of a similar maturity as investors sought new places to hide their money, even if it means losing some of it.
The Hall-Sargent calculations show that almost all of this inflation tax was borne by those who held bonds with a maturity of five years or more. (That is because investors in short-term bonds could more quickly demand higher interest rates to compensate for inflation.) The trick is harder to repeat today.