A debt financial instrument used by Governments and corporate entities in order to raise capital. The bond obliges the organization to pay its holders a fixed rate of return (coupon) and repay the principal of the debt at maturity. These bonds are traded (the CBOT is one of the major Bond Exchanges) and their values are directly correlated with interest rates and interest rate speculation by the markets. The lower interest rates are projected to be, the more valuable the bond will be.
