Government bond
A debt security (because Sovereign entities can hardly issue equity, can they?) issued by a soverieng entity.
Depending on the credit quality of the sovereign, govvies can be seen as unimpeachable articulations of the golden mean (US Treasuries), 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.