Robin Wigglesworth
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As seen in:
Financial Times,
The Story of Money (Podcast),
Medium,
MSN UK,
The New York Times,
Valor Econômico,
Markets Insider,
TIME,
Aol,
CNBC,
Los Angeles Times,
Yahoo Finance
and
Editor of @FTAlphaville and co-host of The Story of Money. Norwegian despite the Harry Potter-esque name. Author of A FABULOUS DEBT and TRILLIONS.
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Articles by Robin Wigglesworth
FTAV’s Friday charts quiz
It was fun to see a few heroes rocking their I❤️charts winner tees at yesterday’s chart show.
FTAV’s further reading
Thanks to everyone who came to yesterday’s chart event. It was glorious. But unfortunately, it means a slightly shorter Further Reading today.
FTAV’s further reading
Today is Art of the Chart Day! But NB, in case you’re planning to come/stay for Alphaville’s 20th birthday party afterwards, we’re now...
FTAV’s further reading
NYC pub quiz! NYC pub quiz! NYC pub quiz! Elsewhere on Wednesday . . .
Transcript: Why the French Revolution was a financial revolution — Part 1
This is an audio transcript of The Story of Money podcast episode: ‘Why the French Revolution was a financial revolution — Part 1’ Robin...
FTAV’s further reading
For American readers who might be feeling left out in all the excitement about Art of the Chart, a reminder that we’re hosting another...
FTAV’s further reading
A reminder to those with tickets that our Art of the Chart show is happening on Thursday evening.
La finanza oscura
Quasi un secolo fa Fritz Zwicky, un fisico svizzero del California institute of technology, stava osservando un ammasso di galassie distante trecento milioni di anni luce dalla Terra quando notò qualcosa d’insolito. Attraverso il gigantesco telescopio Hooker da cento pollici, Zwicky notò che le galassie si muovevano a una velocità tale che avrebbero dovuto disperdersi nell’universo, lanciate come enormi palle di neve stellari.
Transcript: How the US financed World War I using Charlie Chaplin and Girl Scouts
This is an audio transcript of The Story of Money podcast episode: ‘How the US financed World War I using Charlie Chaplin and Girl...
What is driving the global bond sell-off? You asked, we answered
Global bond markets are selling off sharply, sending government borrowing costs to multiyear highs as investors contend with energy...
One person is now a quorum at the SEC
Terry Pratchett’s fictional city of Ankh-Morpork is led by Lord Vetinari, who follows a unique approach to democracy: One Man, One Vote;...
Transcript: The bloody birth of the bond market
This is an audio transcript of The Story of Money podcast episode: ‘The bloody birth of the bond market’ Robin Wigglesworth We’re going...
The Strange History of the Poyais Scandal, the World's First Great Bond Fraud
The following is an excerpt from A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Rule the Modern World, by Robin Wigglesworth. Article continues after advertisement Gregor MacGregor had a great story to tell, and the Scottish adventurer would gladly tell it to anyone who would listen in the coffeehouses of Change Alley or the City of London’s gentlemen’s clubs. Born on Christmas Eve 1786 in Glengyle, Scotland, MacGregor joined the British army as soon as he turned sixteen.
The 12th-century military disaster that forever changed global finance
A literature column to feed your curiosity. History and SocietyMedieval HistorySocial MobilityFinancial MarketsCivic Institutions Excerpted from A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World by Robin Wigglesworth, in agreement with Portfolio, an imprint of Penguin Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House LLC. Copyright © Robin Wigglesworth, 2026. The birth of the bond market started with a ruthless multinational raid that sent shock waves through the Mediterranean.
Who is driving the massive surge in repo borrowing?
Some people spend their time thinking about the nature of the divine, the singularity, geopolitical fragmentation or how to cure cancer;...
The bond market has outgrown the banks
The bond market is today by far the biggest, broadest, and most important part of the global financial system. By the middle of 2025, there were at least $188 trillion worth of bonds outstanding, according to the Bank for International Settlements. They were issued by everyone from the Japanese government, ExxonMobil, and the World Bank to American high schools, Sri Lankan banks, and the Church of England. By comparison, the world’s stock markets were valued at roughly $130 trillion.
What is the AI capex breakeven rate?
You might have heard that the AI hyperscalers are spending squillions on building data centres.
Transcript: Butchers, fake deaths and falling from helicopters — History’s craziest frauds
This is an audio transcript of The Story of Money podcast episode: ‘Butchers, fake deaths and falling from helicopters — History’s...
FTAV’s Friday charts quiz
It is a truth universally acknowledged that a person in possession of a good mind must be in want of a charts-based quiz on a Friday.
‘Greek finance minister encourages Germany to implement reforms’
In these dark days, man tends to look for little shafts of light that spill from heaven.
FTAV’s further reading
Elsewhere on Friday . . . — The insane death of east London’s hottest lesbian bar (Londoner) — Who’s ready for the next quant winter?
Chattering central bankers are good, actually
Yesterday Kevin Warsh accepted the inevitable and voted with the rest of the Federal Reserve board to increase interest rates, even if he...
FTAV’s further reading
Elsewhere on Thursday . . .
Transcript: Meet the Fuggers — Europe’s richest family ever
This is an audio transcript of The Story of Money podcast episode: ‘Meet the Fuggers: Europe’s richest family ever’ Greg Steinmetz He...
FTAV’s further reading
The Art of the Chart is now pretty much sold out unfortunately, but we’ll be gathering for drinks at a nearby pub afterwards to celebrate...
America’s Investing Identity Crisis Original
What compelled hundreds of thousands of people around the world to invest in the initial public offering of Elon Musk’s SpaceX this summer? It certainly wasn’t the company’s financial metrics. Despite the success of its core rocket business, the company is burning through a prodigious amount of money. Yet SpaceX still managed to pull off a record-breaking IPO, transforming Musk into the world’s first trillionaire. Although an outlier, the SpaceX IPO is not unique.
BPRE’s extremely large, very huge, getting-bigger NAV discount
Last December, Alphaville gawped at the stock market debut of the Bluerock Private Real Estate Fund, which was being converted from a...
FTAV’s further reading
Our Art of the Chart show is now nearly sold out, so get in touch quickly if this is your kind of thing.
FTAV’s further reading
A reminder that this is happening, and it will be epic. Elsewhere on Monday . . . — Will AI soon lead to double-digit growth? Probably not.
Transcript: Why Dante put bankers in hell and James Joyce didn’t
This is an audio transcript of The Story of Money podcast episode: ‘Why Dante put bankers in hell and James Joyce didn’t’ [MUSIC PLAYING]...
Transcript: Was Jesus anti-capitalist?
This is an audio transcript of The Story of Money podcast episode: ‘Was Jesus anti-capitalist?’ Tom Thatcher The Jesus story of money...
The repo market is the ‘dark matter’ of finance: powerful and perilous
Nearly a century ago, a Swiss physicist at the California Institute of Technology named Fritz Zwicky was studying a cluster of galaxies...
This time it really was different
Cast your mind back to 2021-22.
A Fabulous Debt: The Epic Story of How Bonds Built the Modern World
Prime Minister Burnham’s brush with investors in gilts was short and sour. He argued that Britain needed to stop being ‘in hock to the bond markets’. The gilt market duly responded and yields began to rise before he quickly engaged reverse gear and confirmed his support for Rachel Reeves’s fiscal framework. It puts one in mind of James Carville’s clumsy bon mot about wanting to be reincarnated as the bond market so as to be able to terrify everyone.
Happy birthday to the First Index Investment Trust
Fifty years ago today, the Vanguard Group of Investment Companies launched its first passive index-tracking fund.
This Is How the A.I. Debt Binge Sinks the Economy
ChatGPT can now search years of your texts—but security experts are most worried about the people who never opted in ChatGPT no longer has to wait for people to copy and paste their texts into the chatbot. Now it can search for them itself. A new Apple Messages …
This Is How the A.I. Debt Binge Sinks the Economy
This Is How the A.I. Debt Binge Sinks the Economy Aug. 26, 2026, 11:00 a.m. ET Credit...Nadine Redlich Mr. Wigglesworth is an editor at the Financial Times.
And the FTAV Friday charts quiz winner is . . .
We didn’t forget to announce a quiz winner yesterday, we just magnanimously decided to give you an extra day to mull things over. Promise.
Bessent gets Drucked
Stanley Druckenmiller is not only a bona fide Wall Street legend, the hedge fund manager is also a longtime mentor of both US Treasury...
Bessent gets Drucked
5 hours ago He took over two declining bookstore chains and fixed both by subtracting — not adding. Barnes & Noble is aiming to open 60 stores in 2026, reversing more than 15 years of shrinking. The marketing budget behind that expansion is zero dollars. “We have the great benefit of not having a marketing …
Bitcoin is great (for systemic theft of aid money)
Despite now having been around for almost two decades, bitcoin is still struggling with use cases beyond money laundering, sex...
FTAV’s Friday charts quiz
In case you missed it, this week’s quiz is your last chance to win the OG Alphaville Friday charts quiz I ❤️ Charts T-shirt.
FTAV’s further reading
Elsewhere on Friday . . .
‘Treasury demand has become materially more valuation-sensitive’
Why have Treasury bonds sold off lately?
FTAV’s further reading
Elsewhere on Thursday . . .
FTAV’s further reading
Elsewhere on Wednesday . . .
Transcript: Mohammed — prophet, trader . . . and capitalist?
This is an audio transcript of The Story of Money podcast episode: ‘Mohammed: prophet, trader . . .
Forget the bond rout, fund managers are in party mode
In case you were wondering, the Strait of Hormuz is still closed.
FTAV’s further reading
Elsewhere on Tuesday . . . — Redefining fluids (Quanta) — Who are the token brokers?
People are worried about America’s solvency
Here’s a fun NBER paper where some economists surveyed bond investors, ordinary voters and people with economics or finance degrees about...
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