The purchasers are typically large financial institutions that need to manage vast sums of money. On the principle of don’t-put-all-your-eggs-in-one-basket, capital will be invested in a variety of assets, including bonds. If investors fear that other asset classes like shares or gold might see big losses in value, then a negative yield bond that guarantees no worse than a very limited loss might seem like the safest option – at least for a portion of the investor’s portfolio.

Bonds issued by the most solvent and stable governments with the most buoyant currencies are especially attractive – for instance, countries like Germany or Sweden. That’s why they can get away with offering bonds that offer a (slighty) negative yield.

But here’s the twist: this week Greece managed to sell bonds with a yield of minus 0.02%. The money markets are now paying the Greek Government for the privilege of lending it money.

That might seem like a remarkable turn around for the once crisis-racked country, but it has been purchased at a heavy cost. The perceived safety of newly issued Greek debt is secured against the backing of the Eurozone and the Eurozone’s imposition of permanent austerity on the Greek people.