Question

Fixed-income securities consist of debt instruments and preferred stock. Bonds are debt securities in which a borrower promises to pay a specified interest rate and principal at a future date.
The entity that promises to make the interest and maturity payments for a bond issue is called the:________.
Based on the information given in the following statement, answer the questions that follow: In July 2009, Walmart sold 100 billion yen of five-year samurai bonds. Lead managers in the deal were Mizuho Securities, BNP Paribas, and Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.
1. What type of bonds are these?
a. Government bonds
b. Municipal bonds
c. Corporate bonds
2. Who is the issuer of the bonds?
a. BNP Paribas
b. Walmart
c. Mitsubishi UFJ Securities
3. Which of the following statements is true about bonds?
a. When interest rates increase, the prices of U.S. Treasuries decline.
b. When interest rates increase, the prices of U.S. Treasuries increase.
4. Which of the following types of bonds has the least default risk?
a. Municipal bonds
b. Corporate bonds
c. Treasury bonds

Answer 1

Answer:

a. Issuer

The entity that promises to make payments on the bond is the entity that issued the bond and they are therefore known as the Bond Issuer.

1. c. Corporate bonds

When a private company issues bonds, these bonds are known as Corporate Bonds. They often offer the most return of the 3 options as they are the riskiest.

2. b. Walmart

Walmart are the issuers of the bond. The rest are Lead Managers who are often Investment banks who help in the facilitation of Bond Issuance.

3. a. When interest rates increase, the prices of U.S. Treasuries decline.

Bond prices and interest rates have an inverse relationship. This is because of the fixed interest payment that bonds offer which can either be attractive or not to investors depending on market rates. For instance, when interest rates are high, other investment vehicles will offer more returns than bonds and so people will divest from them which will reduce their price.

4. c. Treasury bonds

US Treasury and indeed Government bonds on average are the least riskiest of the options listed as they are backed by the full weight and faith of the central government and all its assets. If all else fails, the Central Government could simply print more money to pay off the bonds.