布兰查德宏观经济学ppt第15章.pptVIP

Bond Pricesand Bond Yields Bonds differ in two basic dimensions: Default risk, the risk that the issuer of the bond will not pay back the full amount promised by the bond. Maturity, the length of time over which the bond promises to make payments to the holder of the bond. Bonds of different maturities each have a price and an associated interest rate called the yield to maturity, or simply the yield. Bond Pricesand Bond Yields Government bonds are bonds issued by government agencies. Corporate bonds are bonds issued by firms. Bond ratings are issued by Standard and Poor’s Corporation and Moody’s Investors Service. The risk premium is the difference between the interest rate paid on a given bond and the interest rate paid on the bond with the highest rating. Bonds with high default risk are often called junk bonds. Bonds that promise a single payment at maturity are called discount bonds. The single payment is called the face value of the bond. Bonds that promise multiple payments before maturity and one payment at maturity are called coupon bonds. The payments are called coupon payments. The ratio of the coupon payments to the face value of the bond is called the coupon rate. The current yield is the ratio of the coupon payment to the price of the bond. The life of a bond is the amount of time left until the bond matures. U.S. government bonds classified by maturity: Treasury bills, or T-bills: Up to one year. Treasury notes: One to ten years. Treasury bonds: Ten years or more. Bonds typically promise to pay a sequence of fixed nominal payments. However, other types of bonds, called indexed bonds, promise payments adjusted for inflation rather than fixed nominal payments. Bond Prices as Present Values Consider two types of bonds: A one-year bond—a bond that promises one payment of $100 in one year. A two-year bond—a bond that promises one payment of $100 in two years. Price of the one-year bond: Arbitrage and Bond Prices Returns from Holding 1-Year and 2-