Just as individuals have their own credit report and rating issued by credit bureaus,
bond issuers generally are evaluated by their own set of ratings agencies to assess their creditworthiness.
Just as individuals have their own credit report and rating issued by credit bureaus,
bond issuers generally are evaluated by their own set of ratings agencies to assess their creditworthiness.
Not exact matches
Generally, among asset classes, stocks are more volatile than
bonds or short - term instruments and can decline significantly in response to adverse
issuer, political, regulatory, market, or economic developments.
Although
bonds generally present less short - term risk and volatility than stocks,
bonds do contain interest rate risk (as interest rates rise,
bond prices usually fall, and vice versa) and the risk of default, or the risk that an
issuer will be unable to make income or principal payments.
Greylock, a $ 990 million hedge fund run by Willem J. «Hans» Humes, says in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that international junk
bonds are «
generally considered to be predominantly speculative with respect to the
issuer's capacity to pay,» and that defaulters sometimes end up shielded by «principles of sovereign immunity.»
However, because the agency
bond issuers are guaranteed by the federal government these
bonds are
generally considered safer than even the safest corporate
bonds.
An AA + rating is
generally one step below the highest rating (AAA) assigned to the
bonds of an
issuer by credit rating agencies.
Cons: The primary negative associated with investment grade floaters is that when issued they
generally offer current yields that are significantly lower than a typical fixed rate
bond of the same maturity offered by the same
issuer.
When a
bond issuer is doing well,
generally its stocks and
bonds go up in value.
When a
bond issuer is doing well,
generally its stocks and
bonds go up in value.
They're
generally safe because the
issuer has the ability to raise money through taxes — but they're not as safe as U.S. government
bonds, and it is possible for the
issuer to default.
the interest rate a
bond's
issuer promises to pay to the bondholder until maturity, or other redemption event;
generally expressed as an annual percentage of the
bond's face value
Bonds are subject to interest rate risk (as interest rates rise
bond prices
generally fall), the risk of
issuer default,
issuer credit risk, and inflation risk, although U.S. Treasuries are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government.
Generally, the higher the risk of default by the
bond issuer, the greater the interest or coupon.
Manage volatility Because
issuers of
bonds generally make interest payments and repay principal, investment - grade
bonds can be less volatile than stocks.
the act of an
issuer calling, or purchasing a fixed - income security from the holder,
generally at face value, prior to the stated maturity date; the
bond indenture can provide details on possible redemptions
the interest rate a
bond's
issuer promises to pay to the bondholder until maturity, or other redemption event,
generally expressed as an annual percentage of the
bond's face value; for example, a
bond with a 10 % coupon will pay $ 100 per $ 1000 of the
bond's face value per year, subject to credit risk; when searching Fidelity's secondary market fixed income offerings, customers can enter a minimum coupon, maximum coupon, or enter both to specify a range and refine their search; when viewing Fidelity's fixed - income search results pages, the term «Step - Up» instead of a numeric coupon rate means the coupon will step up, or increase over time at pre-determined rates and dates in the future; clicking Step - Up will reveal the step - up schedule for that security
High - yield
bonds, also known as «junk
bonds,»
generally have a greater risk of default, which increases the risk that an
issuer may be unable to pay interest and principal on the issue.
That promise is
generally kept unless the
issuer falls on hard times; some
bonds have credit risk based on the financial health of their
issuer.
While the term «substantially identical» has not been explicitly defined in this context, two
bonds have
generally not been considered substantially identical if (1) the securities have different
issuers, or (2) there are substantial differences in either maturity or coupon rate.
Bonds generally present less short - term risk and volatility than stocks, but contain interest rate risk (as interest rates raise,
bond prices usually fall),
issuer default risk,
issuer credit risk, liquidity risk and inflation risk.
If the interest savings from insurance or another form of credit enhancement are not greater than the cost of such credit enhancement, the
issuer will
generally choose to issue
bonds without third - party enhancement.