Economics
Bonds (Financial)
Quick fact
The global bond market is over $100 trillion in size, dwarfing the stock market. Most bonds are traded over-the-counter, not on public exchanges like stocks.
Why this is interesting
You probably know about borrowing money from a bank. But what if a government needs billions to build a bridge? Instead of a single loan, it issues bonds—thousands of small loans to investors. Why would anyone lend money to a government or company through a bond?