If you buy a 10-year €1,000 bond for €600 when the bond is issued, you invest €600 now and are guaranteed €1,000 10 years from now. If you lend €600 at 5.24% annual yield and only require one repayment 10 years from now, the borrower will have to pay you €1,000 when the loan expires. So buying a bond is like lending money, and if the yield is positive (or larger than inflation, or larger than the profit you can make elsewhere, or larger than whatever your benchmark is) you'll make a profit.

That makes it crystal clear what a bond is for the ignoramus.

Similarly:

the bond yield is a measure of risk-free return. When valuing stocks, return is measured relative to the risk-free rate of return. So, if bond yields go down, stock returns above the risk-free rate go up and so investing in the stock market becomes more attractive. Also, investments that used to be less profitable than bonds and so wouldn't be undertaken suddenly become profitable.

This explains to me the relation between the bond and stock market. And I haven't been looking up information since I logged off yesterday.

If J could blend this into his diary as an introduction to the bond market, I think it would be able to reach a larger audience unfamiliar with financials.