The Bond Market Answers

Financial Markets and Institutions The Bond Market 1) Compared to money market securities, capital market securities have longer maturities. 2) (I) Securities that have an original maturity greater than one year are traded in capital markets. (II) The best known capital market securities are stocks and bonds. Both are true. 3) (I) Securities that have an original maturity greater than one year are traded in money markets. (II) The best known money market securities are stocks and bonds. Both are false. 4) (I) Firms and individuals use the capital markets for long-term investments. (II) Capital markets provide an alternative to investment in assets such as real estate and gold. Both are true. 5) The primary reason that individuals and firms choose to borrow long-term is to reduce the risk that interest rates will ________ before they pay off their debt. rise 6) The primary reason that individuals and firms choose to borrow long-term is to reduce the risk that interest rates will rise before they pay off their debt. 7) A firm will borrow long-term if the extra interest cost of borrowing long-term is less than the expected cost of rising interest rates before it retires its debt. 8) The primary issuers of capital market securities include the federal and local governments, and corporations. 9) Governments never issue stock because they cannot sell ownership claims. 10) (I) The primary issuers of capital market securities are federal and local governments, and corporations. (II) Governments never issue stock because they cannot sell ownership claims. Both are true. 11) (I) The primary issuers of capital market securities are financial institutions. (II) The largest purchasers of capital market securities are corporations. Both are false. 12) The distribution of a firm's capital between debt and equity is its capital structure. 13) The largest purchasers of capital market securities are households. 14) Individuals and households frequently purchase capital market securities through financial institutions such as mutual funds. pension funds. 15) (I) There are two types of exchanges in the secondary market for capital securities: organized exchanges and over-the-counter exchanges. (II) When firms sell securities for the very first time, the issue is an initial public offering. Both are true. 16) (I) Capital market securities fall into two categories: bonds and stocks. (II) Long-term bonds include government bonds and long-term notes, municipal bonds, and corporate bonds. (I) is false, (II) true. 17) The ________ value of a bond is the amount that the issuer must pay at maturity. face 18) The ________ rate is the rate of interest that the issuer must pay. coupon 19) (I) The coupon rate is the rate of interest that the issuer of the bond must pay. (II) The coupon rate is usually fixed for the duration of the bond and does not fluctuate with market interest rates. Both are true. 20) (I) The coupon rate is the rate of interest that the issuer of the bond must pay. (II) The coupon rate on old bonds fluctuates with market interest rates so they will remain attractive to investors. (I) is true, (II) false. 21) Treasury bonds are subject to ________ risk but are free of ________ risk. interest-rate; default 22) The prices of Treasury notes, bonds, and bills are quoted as a percentage of $100 face value. 23) The security with the longest maturity is a Treasury bond. 24) (I) To sell an old bond when interest rates have risen, the holder will have to discount the bond until the yield to the buyer is the same as the market rate. (II) The risk that the value of a bond will fall when market interest rates rise is called interest-rate risk. Both are true. 25) To sell an old bond when interest rates have ________, the holder will have to ________ the price of the bond until the yield to the buyer is the same as the market rate. risen; lower 26) Most of the time, the interest rate on Treasury notes and bonds is ________ that on money market securities because of ________ risk. above; interest-rate 27) (I) In most years, the rate of return on short-term Treasury bills is below that on the 20-year Treasury bond. (II) Interest rates on Treasury bills are more volatile than rates on long-term Treasury securities. Both are true. 28) (I) Because interest rates on Treasury bills are more volatile than rates on long-term securities, the return on short-term Treasury securities is usually above that on longer-term Treasury securities. (II) A Treasury STRIP separates the periodic interest payments from the final principal repayment. (I) is false, (II) true. 29) Which of the following statements about Treasury inflation-indexed bonds is not true? A) The principal amount used to compute the interest payment varies with the consumer price index. B) The interest payment rises when inflation occurs. C) The interest rate rises when inflation occurs. D) At maturity, the securities pay the greater of face value or inflation-adjusted principal. Answer: A 30) (I) Municipal bonds that are issued to pay for essential public projects are exempt from federal taxation. (II) General obligation bonds do not have specific assets pledged as security or a specific source of revenue allocated for their repayment. Both are true. 31) (I) Most corporate bonds have a face value of $1,000, pay interest semiannually, and can be redeemed anytime the issuer wishes. (II) Registered bonds have now been largely replaced by bearer bonds, which do not have coupons. (I) is true, (II) false. 32) The bond contract that states the lender's rights and privileges and the borrower's obligations is called the bond indenture. 33) Policies that limit the discretion of managers as a way of protecting bondholders' interests are called restrictive covenants. 34) Typically, the interest rate on corporate bonds will be ________ the more restrictions are placed on management through restrictive covenants, because ________. lower; the bonds will be considered safer by buyers 35) Restrictive covenants can limit the amount of dividends the firm can pay. limit the ability of the firm to issue additional debt. restrict the ability of the firm to enter into a merger agreement. 36) (I) Restrictive covenants often limit the amount of dividends that firms can pay the stockholders. (II) Most corporate indentures include a call provision, which states that the issuer has the right to force the holder to sell the bond back. Both are true. 37) Call provisions will be exercised when interest rates ________ and bond values ________. fall; rise 38) A requirement in the bond indenture that the firm pay off a portion of the bond issue each year is called a sinking fund. 39) (I) Callable bonds usually have a higher yield than comparable noncallable bonds. (II) Convertible bonds are attractive to bondholders and sell for a higher price than comparable nonconvertible bonds. Both are true. 40) Long-term unsecured bonds that are backed only by the general creditworthiness of the issuer are called debentures. 41) A secured bond is backed by specific collateral. 42) Financial guarantees are insurance policies to back bond issues. are purchased by financially weaker security issuers. lower the risk of the bonds covered by the guarantee. 43) In its simplest form, a credit default swap provides insurance against default in the principle and interest payments of a credit instrument. 44) Corporate bonds are less risky if they are ________ bonds and municipal bonds are less risky if they are ________ bonds. secured; general obligation 45) Which of the following are true for the current yield? A) The current yield is defined as the yearly coupon payment divided by the price of the security. B) The formula for the current yield is identical to the formula describing the yield to maturity for a discount bond. C) The current yield is always a poor approximation for the yield to maturity. Answer: A 46) The nearer a bond's price is to its par value and the longer the maturity of the bond, the more closely the ________ approximates the ________. current yield; yield to maturity 47) Which of the following are true for the current yield? A) The current yield is defined as the yearly coupon payment divided by the price of the security. B) The current yield and the yield to maturity always move together. C) The formula for the current yield is identical to the formula describing the yield to maturity for a discount bond. Only A and B of the above are true. 48) The current yield is a less accurate approximation of the yield to maturity the ________ the time to maturity of the bond and the ________ the price is from/to the par value. shorter; farther 49) The current yield on a $6,000, 10 percent coupon bond selling for $5,000 is 12%. 50) The current yield on a $5,000, 8 percent coupon bond selling for $4,000 is 10%. 51) When an old bond's market value is above its par value, the bond is selling at a ________. This occurs because the old bond's coupon rate is ________ the coupon rates of new bonds with similar risk. premium; above 52) Corporations may enter the capital markets because they do not have sufficient capital to fund their investment opportunities. 53) Capital market trading occurs in the primary market. the secondary market. 54) Bonds are securities that represent a debt owed by the issuer to the investor. 55) STRIPS (Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal Securities) are also called zero-coupon securities. 56) The risk on an agency bond is low. 57) The first step in finding the value of a bond is to identify the cash flows the holder of the bond will receive. 58) A change in the current yield ________ signals a change in the same direction of the yield to maturity. always 59) By the time the subprime financial crisis hit in force, Fannie and Freddie had ________ subprime and Alt-A assets on their books. over $1 trillion of 1) Firms and individuals use the money markets primarily to warehouse funds for short periods of time until a more important need or a more productive use for the funds arises. * TRUE 2) The primary issuers of capital market securities are local governments and corporations. * FALSE 3) Capital market securities are less liquid and have longer maturities than money market securities. * TRUE 4) Governments never issue stock because they cannot sell ownership claims. * TRUE 5) To sell an old bond when rates have risen, the holder will have to discount the bond until the yield to the buyer is the same as the market rate. * TRUE 6) Most of the time, the interest rate on Treasury notes is below that on money market securities because of their low default risk. * FALSE 7) Municipal bonds that are issued to pay for essential public projects are exempt from federal taxation. * TRUE 8) Most municipal bonds are revenue bonds rather than general obligation bonds. * TRUE 9) Most corporate bonds have a face value of $1,000, are sold at a discount, and can only be redeemed at the maturity date. * FALSE 10) Registered bonds have now been largely replaced by bearer bonds, which do not have coupons. * FALSE 11) A sinking fund is a requirement in the bond indenture that the firm pay off a portion of the bond issue each year. * TRUE 12) Debentures are long-term unsecured bonds that are backed only by the general creditworthiness of the issuer. * TRUE 13) In a leveraged buy-out, a firm greatly increases its debt level by issuing junk bonds to finance the purchase of another firm's stock. * TRUE 14) A financial guarantee ensures that the lender (bond purchaser) will be paid both principal and interest in the event the issuer defaults. * TRUE 15) The Commodity Futures Modernization Act (2000) removed derivative securities, such as credit default swaps, from regulatory oversight. * TRUE 16) The current yield on a bond is a good approximation of the bond's yield to maturity when the bond matures in five years or less and its price differs from its par value by a large amount. * FALSE 17) The secondary market is where new issues of stocks and bonds are introduced. * FALSE 18) General obligation bonds have specific assets pledged as security or specific sources of revenue allocated for their repayment. * FALSE