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How To Read A Bond Table
Here's how to read the tables you might see in the newspaper or on the Internet listing information about different types of bonds -- Treasuries, tax-exempt (municipal) bonds, and corporate bonds.
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Treasuries |
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Rate |
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Maturity |
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Bid |
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Ask |
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Chg |
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Ask/yld |
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11 3/4 |
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Feb 11 |
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108:05 |
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108:07 |
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-1 |
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5.61 |
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5 5/8 |
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Feb 11 |
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99:31 |
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100:01 |
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5.60 |
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The above example lists a Treasury bond and a Treasury note (that's what the "n" stands for), both of which mature in February 2011 and have similar yields. The bond pays a much higher interest rate (11 3/4) but costs well over par, while the note pays a lower rate but costs close to par. This is a good example of how yield depends on price as well as on the interest rate.
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Rate -- The interest rate paid by the bond.
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Maturity -- The date at which the bond issuer is scheduled to pay back your principal.
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Bid -- The amount buyers are willing to pay to buy this bond on the open market. Colons in the bid amount represent 32nds. In the example above, the bid price for the bond is 108 5/32, and the bid price for the note is 99 31/32.
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Ask -- Amount at which sellers are willing to sell this bond on the open market. Colons in the ask amount represent 32nds. In the above example, the ask price for the bond is 108 7/32, and the ask price for the note is 100 1/32.
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Chg -- The change in price, measured in 32nds, from the previous day's close.
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Ask/yld -- Yield to maturity based on the "ask" quote. For bonds that can be called prior to maturity, yield is computed to the earliest call date for issues quoted above par, and to the maturity date for issues quoted below par.
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Tax Exempt (Municipal) Bonds |
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Issue |
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Coupon |
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Maturity |
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Price |
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Yield to Maturity |
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Denver Colo Arpt |
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5.000 |
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11-15-25 |
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86 7/8 |
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5.99 |
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Mesa IndDev AZ |
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5.750 |
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01-01-25 |
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99 1/8 |
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5.82 |
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These two municipal bonds mature in the same year (2025), but pay different interest (coupon) rates. The bond for Denver's airport pays less interest, but its price is also lower so its overall yield to maturity is higher. The Arizona bond costs near par, so its yield to maturity is slightly lower than the other one despite its higher interest (coupon) rate.
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Issue -- The name of the bond issuer.
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Coupon -- The interest rate paid by the bond.
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Maturity -- The date at which the bond issuer is scheduled to pay back your principal.
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Price -- How much it would cost to buy the bond currently, on the open market.
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Yield to maturity -- The rate of return you can expect to get from your bond if you hold it until the maturity date. For bonds callable prior to maturity, yield is computed to the earliest call date for issues quoted above par and to the maturity date for issues quoted below par.
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Corporate Bonds |
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Bonds |
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Cur. Yld. |
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Vol. |
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Close |
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Net Chg. |
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Dole 7 7/8 13 |
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7.9 |
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25 |
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99 7/8 |
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+1/2 |
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IBM 7 1/2 13 |
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7.2 |
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25 |
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103 5/8 |
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+1/8 |
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The percentage immediately following the company name is the interest paid by the bond as a percentage of par value. The "13" refers to the year the bond matures, in both cases 2013. The current yield is based on the closing price of the bond. The Dole bond was up $5.00 for the day while the IBM bond was up $1.25. The Dole bond closed near, but slightly under, its par value, while IBM was well above. This accounts for the difference in current yield.
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Bonds -- The name of the company issuing the bond followed immediately by a percentage figure indicating the interest paid by the bond as a percentage of par value. The number following the percentage figure (in this case, 13) represents the year the bond matures (in this case, 2013).
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Cur. Yld. -- Current yield, which is the interest rate divided by the closing price of the bond.
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Vol. -- The number of bonds traded in the previous day.
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Close -- The price of the bond at the close of the previous day's trading.
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Net Chg. -- The difference in price from the previous day's close.
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