The bond market had one of its best-ever quarters by any measure between April and June this year. Volume was high, demand for new issues was huge, trading was hectic and prices only went up.

The excitement was at such a fever pitch that even talk of a bubble in the government bond market failed to dampen enthusiasm for debt products among issuers and investors. Intermediaries simply rode the wave and profited handsomely, as recent quarterly results from the big US bond houses, such as Citigroup and Merrill Lynch, have shown.