A few decades ago, when global financial markets rocked to a more gentlemanly tune, many western governments took an informal break from the business of selling their bonds during the summer.

For back then, it was presumed pension fund managers – or anyone else with a penchant for government bonds – would spend August on the beach. And the media-shy bureaucrats who typically work at government debt management offices usually presumed they would have plenty of time during the rest of the year to go about selling bonds.