Perhaps the most remarkable development is the strength of government bonds. At the start of the year, a survey of fund managers by Towers Watson, an actuary, found that 81% were bearish on government bonds. Many commentators were talking about the end of a 30-year bull market. But the yield on 10-year Treasury bonds (which moves in the opposite direction to prices) briefly dropped below 2% on October 15th, having stood at 3.02% on January 1st.