What is crossover bond?what are risks and expected rewards for investors of such bonds?
348042
A crossover bond is a bond whose credit rating is just on the edge between investment grade and high yield--or junk--status.  Crossover bonds have all the same risks and rewards as other bonds, but there's one additional factor.\n\nMany institutional investors--pension funds, insurance companies, mutual funds, etc.--can only buy bonds that are rated "investment grade," or BBB- or higher.  So if a crossover bond rated BBB- gets its rating cut to BB+, many of these investors have to sell their holdings of these bonds to get them out of their portfolios.  That means the prices of these bonds falls more than you might expect as institutions dump their holdings on the market.  Eventually, the prices of bonds downgraded to high yield status recover somewhat.  But following the downgrade, they take a big hit.
768822
Interest rates, stock market health...  Basically any competing product.  When things are good in higher risk (stocks), bonds don't do as well.  When the market is tanking, then bonds become more desirable.
964830
I assume, that an investor is investing in both stocks as well as bonds in emerging markets. The risk premia associated with stocks will change with varying interest rates. One way to reduce this risk is by diversifying your investment in stocks accross different countries. On the other hand, if one is investing only in bonds issued in emerging markets, one can take care to invest in a short duration bond portfolio so as to minimize interest rate risk.
534694
Treasury bonds or any other guaranteed government bonds.  \n\nYou are going to find that "safe" investments do not earn a great deal of return.  But remember rule #1..never invest money you can't afford to lose.
877817
Generally speaking, companies may elect to redeem bonds if they have sufficient cash on hand to do so or if they are able to refinance them for a lower effective yield (after taking into account any call premiums).  A convertible bond is a type of bond that can be converted into shares of stock in the issuing company, usually at some pre-announced ratio. Although it typically has a low coupon rate, the holder is compensated with the ability to convert the bond to common stock, usually at a substantial premium to the stock's market value. If a company believes that its stock has substantial upside (beyond its current price, which presumably is below the strike price for the convert), and wishes to minimize the dilution impact of the convertible, then it could try to tender for the convertible notes. \n\nHowever, in my view, unless a company had excessive cash balances and fairly strong expected future operating cash flows, any attempt to redeem convertible bonds by a company is likely to be viewed negatively by the common shareholders, since most convertible bond investors (who are a fairly savvy bunch, in general) would not tender their bonds if they thought there was significant upside in the shares (as compared to tendering their notes) and no tender offer would ever be launched without fairly good market guidance that such an offer would be accepted.
1140521
It is a Public Income note - basically a hybrid equity/debt security.  Companies issue them to raise capital, much like a preferred stock.  People buy them for the dividend flow, typically.
720137
I have worked with the managers running Calamos and they are a smart group.  Calamos is the master behind convertable bonds, even has written a few books on the subject.  Without looking up the specific funds, I can tell by the yield that these are likely to converts and hi yld bonds.\nIf you are unaware of the risks of hi yld and converts then you should learn first.  I hate the old saying of "high return = high risk" as this is not always true, but, that said, hi yld bonds could present a problem as the consumer continues to weaken and the economy slows.  Hi yld is likely to result in lower returns if defaults pick-up.  In much the same way, the converts are likely to have lower yields as the equity kicker does not pick-up do to the lower returns.\nHowever, Calamos and his Naperville crew are well aware of this, and managing their open ended funds accordingly.  But wait, you said closed end!  And here comes the additional problem to consider.  Closed end funds should trade at NAV (net asset value), however this is not always the case as the value of the fund is based upon supply and demand.  Now, the closer to maturity (or unlocking) of the closed end fund, the less likely the fund will trade below or above NAV.\nGiven the two back drops I would wait for expectations of rates to decline when investing in hi-yld and converts.  Especially closed end funds.
844260
It depends what you invest in. US t-bonds will give you about 5%, German bonds 8%, and Brazil 12.5% or so (no capital gains taxes in Brazil either!). Of course, as you can guess, though, the higher the reward, the higher the risk.
861409
Bonds? I can't figure this out at all.  But that's nothing new for me.
475784
Risks of Investing in Bonds\nAll investments offer a balance between risk and potential return. The risk is the chance that you will lose some or all the money you invest. The return is the money you stand to make on the investment.\n\nThe balance between risk and return varies by the type of investment, the entity that issues it, the state of the economy and the cycle of the securities markets. As a general rule, to earn the higher returns, you have to take greater risk. Conversely, the least risky investments also have the lowest returns.\n\nThe bond market is no exception to this rule. Bonds in general are considered less risky than stocks for several reasons:\n\nBonds carry the promise of their issuer to return the face value of the security to the holder at maturity; stocks have no such promise from their issuer. \nMost bonds pay investors a fixed rate of interest income that is also backed by a promise from the issuer. Stocks sometimes pay dividends, but their issuer has no obligation to make these payments to shareholders. \nHistorically the bond market has been less vulnerable to price swings or volatility than the stock market. \nThe average returns from bond investments have also been historically lower, if more stable, than average stock market returns.\n\nHigher Risks=Higher Yields\nA specific bond’s risk level is reflected in its yield, another name for return on a bond investment. “Current” yield is a function of the bond’s:\n\nCoupon rate: the annual interest rate the issuer promises to pay the investor, stated as a percentage of the bond’s face value or “par,” which is the amount the investor can expect to have returned on the bond’s maturity date. \nCurrent price, which may be a premium (more than) or discount (less than) in relation to the bond’s face or par value. \nYield-to-maturity reflects the relationship between the total coupon interest payments remaining between now and maturity, and the difference between today’s market value (price) and par value. Yield-to-call is the same calculation based on the total coupon interest payments remaining between now and the first call date (rather than the maturity date) as well as the difference between today’s market value (price) and the call price.\n\nThe higher the risk in a given bond, the higher its yield needs to be to compensate the investor for taking the risk. When the market perceives the yield on a bond to be too low, its price will fall to bring the yield in line with market expectations or prevailing interest rates.\n\nIt’s All Relative to “Riskless” Treasury Yields\nBonds issued by the U.S. Treasury are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government and therefore considered to have no credit risk. The market for U.S. Treasury securities is also the most liquid in the world, meaning there are always investors willing to buy. U.S. Treasury yields will almost always be lower than other bonds with comparable maturities because they have the fewest risks.\n\nRelative yields—which may be discussed in terms of “spread” or difference in yield between a given bond and a “riskless” U.S. Treasury security with comparable maturity—vary with the type of bond, maturity date, the issuer and the economic cycle.\n\nCallable bonds are riskier than non-callable bonds, for example, and therefore offer a higher yield, particularly if the call date is soon and interest rates have declined since the bond was issued, making it more likely to be called.\n\nShort-term bonds with maturities of three years or less will usually have lower yields than long-term bonds with maturities of 10 years or more, which are more susceptible to interest rate risk. All bonds have more risk when interest rates are rising, but those with the lowest coupons stand to lose the most value.\n\nUnderstand the Risks Before You Invest\nBonds have a role to play in virtually every investor’s portfolio (See the article on Asset Allocation for more inf
609896
Bond prices go down as interest rates go up and vice versa.  Bonds need to pay the going rate in the market or they will not sell.  If interest rates go up, the rate that bonds must pay also goes up.  When these rates go up, any existing bonds that are being held drop in price because no one will pay the same price for a bond with a lower interest rate.  \n\nEx: I buy a bond today for $1000 with a coupon rate(interest rate) of 5%.  One year from now, a $1000 bond is available with a coupon rate of 6%.  An investor would no longer pay $1000 for the first bond because they could buy the second bond for the same price and receive more interest.  So the price of the 5% bond would drop.
447810
Do you presently consider a portfolio of mixed stocks and t-bills a sufficient mix-spread given current market conditions, or does the threat of inflation lead you to believe that a shift toward bonds or international currency investments will yield greater returns?
728541
I believe you mean series B Bonds-this is from Yahoo Finance:\n\nBonds are debt and are issued for a period of more than one year. The U.S. government, local governments, water districts, companies and many other types of institutions sell bonds. When an investor buys bonds, he or she is lending money. The seller of the bond agrees to repay the principal amount of the loan at a specified time. Interest-bearing bonds pay interest periodically.
796923
It all depends on what the incomer is made from, Metal, PVC?\n\nI take it the incoming pipe is metal? If so the rule is, if you can stand and touch that pipe and other pipes at the same time, you should cross bond between them. The reason for cross bonding is so as not to have a difference in potential between the pipes if an electrical fault occurs, if 1 pipe is earthed and one isn't and you touch both pipes you will get a shock if both are bonded you will not get a shock.\n\nIf in doubt cross bond them, always better to be safe than sorry!
1174477
If interest rates are expected to go up, bonds will go down, so no bonds would be better than either short or long bonds. \n\nHaving said that, if you must establish a position, short-term bonds would be a better investment because they will mature sooner, at which time they will be redeemed for their face value. \n\nLong-term bonds, on the other hand, will fall in price and remain there until either rates decline once again or the bonds mature.
494554
Sometimes companies borrow money by issuing bonds in small denominations that are targeted at individual investors.  These bonds tend to be "locked up" into individual investor accounts and so are fairly untradable.  As a result they are not quoted, though they exist and you can see them in company annual reports.  \n\nAn example is General Motors - they often have issued such bonds.  As a professional investor I was interested in buying some but it was pretty much impossible, as I could only get relatively small amounts.
626620
It depends on the terms of the sinking fund and the rating of the bond.\n\nThere's less risk of default because money is set aside to help prevent that, but the bond is less attractive because of the repurchase risk at the sinking fund price.