The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, Nov. 10, edition that since the 1960s, U.S. Treasuries have been considered the "risk-free" benchmark for pricing financial assets. The Globe's guest columnist Chris Gay writes that this concept emerged with the capital asset pricing model, which values riskier assets in relation to a riskless asset's yield. Supported by the credit of the United States government, Treasuries serve as the natural reference point. The pillar of global finance, however, appears to be crumbling, which has significant implications for the world, largely due to the poor governance of President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump's erratic policies, reckless deficit spending and corruption have tarnished the U.S. reputation, leading to what markets refer to as "political risk," usually linked to autocrats and instability in the Third World. The U.S. is becoming a problem for the global financial system, as markets question its ability to meet obligations due to its massive and growing national debt, and the political class's failure to address it. Historians will decide whether U.S. forfeiture of its risk-free reputation marks the beginning of the end for "American exceptionalism."