Category Archives: Bond

ASIA STOCK: DOWN

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Asian stocks fell on Monday, March 12, 2012, as investors waited for the moment the U.S. employment data, which could lower the expectations of policy easing ahead of U.S. Fed meeting. Meanwhile, fears of a slowdown in China’s economy is also an additional negative sentiment.

As quoted by Reuters, MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan fell 0.3 percent after rising as much as 1.3 percent on Friday – though down 1.5 percent in the week.

Japan’s Nikkei index rose on average to its highest level in early trade on Monday, after rising 2 percent on Friday to the summit at 10,000 level for the first time in seven months.

Greece managed to avoid the immediate threat of an uncontrolled standard when a number of private creditors agree to exchange the bonds on Friday that would cut the public debt and provide a path for a new bailout.

While Europe’s debt-related concerns will not fade with the completion of the debt swap Greece. According to Barclays Capital analyst’s current focus is likely to change to global growth and monetary policy.

Data last week showed China’s trade balance fell U.S. $ 31.5 billion in February. It shows weak foreign demand.

DOLLAR HIGHER, GOLD FUTURES PRICES DECREASING

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Gold futures prices fell along with the strengthening U.S. dollar against the euro so eroded the demand for gold as an investment alternative. Gold futures contract for February delivery fell 0.1 percent to 1596.70 per troy ounce (equivalent to 31.1 grams) at 1:59 PM at the Comex in New York on Monday (19/12/2011) local time.

The strengthening U.S. dollar not the euro zone because of the condition is still bad. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi said, a substantial risk to the economy of Europe is still there. The euro also fell 0.5 percent. It will take much time for investors to regain confidence in gold as a protector of the crisis, given the magnitude of shocks in recent years.

Nevertheless, Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London, Monday, remained optimistic gold will perform well in the long run. “Gold will suffer from the recent turmoil because of the liquidity of U.S. dollars, but in the long run gold will remain solid,” said Kryuchenkov.

According to him, an accommodative monetary policy in the world will continue to secure the role of gold as an inflation protector.

INVESTING IN BONDS

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For any financial plan, bonds are the core element to invest and grow wealth. It can be defined as a debt security. When you purchase a bond, you are lending money to an issuer such as government, municipality, corporation, federal agency or other entity. In return for that, the issuer promises to pay you a specified rate of interest during the life of the bond and to repay the face value of the bond when it “matures,” or comes due. It is best to invest in bonds because one will get a predictable stream of payments and repayment of principal, with interest.

There are different types of bonds for you to choose. It includes municipal bonds, corporate bonds, mortage-backed bonds, surety bonds etc.Surety bond is an agreement among three parties the principal, oblige and surety. In construction companies surety bonds are frequently used. A key term in nearly every surety bond is the penal sum, and it is specified amount of money which is the maximum amount that the surety will be required to pay in the event of the principal‘s default. This allows the surety to assess the risk involved in giving the bond; and the premium charged is determined accordingly. If the principal defaults and the surety turn out to be insolvent, the purpose of the bond is rendered futile. The principal will pay a premium in exchange for the bonding company‘s financial strength inorder to extend surety credit. In the event of a claim, the surety will investigate it and if it turns out to be a valid claim, the surety will pay it and then turn to the principal for reimbursement of the amount paid on the claim and any legal fees incurred. There are mainly two categories of bond types: contract bonds and commercial bonds. Contract bonds guarantee a specific contract and it includes performance, bid, supply, maintenance and subdivision bonds. Commercial bonds guarantee per the terms of the bond form and examples are license & permit, union bonds, etc.

A surety bond issued by an insurance company to guarantee satisfactory completion of a project by a contractor is performance bond. Many performance bonds give the surety three choices they are; completing the contract itself through a completion contractor ; selecting a new contractor to contract directly with the owner; or allowing the owner to complete the work with the surety paying the costs.

A bid bond guarantees the owner that the principal will honor its bid if awarded the contract. If the principal refuses to honor its bid, the principal and surety are liable on the bond for any additional costs that the owner incurs in reletting the contract. The penal sum of a bid bond is often ten to twenty percent of the bid amount. In the case of payment bonds it gives guarantee to the owner that subcontractors and suppliers will be paid the monies that they are due from the principal.

If you need a good return in your requirements for any of your needs then the best investment is in bonds.

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