Thursday, April 16, 2009

Bond yields

Let's look at a possible exam question on everybody's favorite topic: bond yields.

S&P just downgraded a corporate bond, pushing the bond’s yield
A. down
B. sideways
C. up
D. in a bond-ladder direction

EXPLANATION: if the rating goes down, so does the “quality,” which means the price falls. And, when the price falls, the yield rises. Would you pay as much for a junk bond as you'd pay for a Treasury bond? Not a chance--the riskier bonds cost less and yield more.



ANSWER: C

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