Government bond
A debt security (because sovereigns can hardly issue equity, can they?) issued by a sovereign entity.
Depending on the credit quality of the issuer, govvies can be seen as unimpeachable articulations of the golden mean (US Treasuries), as safe as houses (G7 government bonds) or a hair-raising ride through the valley of death (Central and South American government debt, most notably that of Argentina[1]).
Don’t cry for the bond market, Argentina
As recently as 2017 Argentina — yes that’s seven-time defaulter, Call-me-“Lucky” Argentina — was selling bonds with a 100 year maturity. Less than a year later, it asked the IMF for a USD30bn bailout.
References
- ↑ Argentina was responsible for the largest sovereign debt default in history — biggest of the seven it has been responsible for in the past 200 years. More information her, for those with a taste for the gruesome.