HOW can governments borrow most cheaply? The answer matters hugely for taxpayers. Take America: it has $14trn in outstanding national debt, fully three-quarters of GDP. Interest payments alone are expected to reach $280bn this fiscal year—ie, more than three times the combined budgets of the Departments of Education, Labour and Commerce.
The problem largely comes down to deciding how much long, medium and short-dated debt to sell. Almost every country issues a combination of these maturities.
