A term describing a bond whose price is below the face value or principal value, usually $1,000. As bond prices are quoted as a percentage of face value, a price below par would typically be anything less than 100. |||A bond trading below par is the same as a bond trading at a discount. When a bond trades below par, its current yield is higher than its fixed coupon rate. Bonds may trade below par when interest rates have risen since it was issued, its credit rating has declined, there are concerns about a default, or there is an excess supply. A bond's discount may narrow as it approaches maturity or its first call date, when investors will receive par value.
The realized volatility of a financial instrument over a given time period. Generally, this measure is calculated by determining the average deviation from the average price of a financial instrument in the given time period. Standard deviation is the most common but not the only way to calculate historical volatility. Also known as "statistical volatility". Taobiz explains Historical Volatility - HV This measure is frequently compared with implied volatility to determine if options prices are over- or undervalued. Historical volatility is also used in all types of risk valuations. Stocks with a high historical volatility usually require a higher risk tolerance.
The past performance of a security or index. Analysts review historical return data when trying to predict future returns, or to estimate how a security might react to a particular situation, such as a drop in consumer demand. Historical returns can also be useful when estimating where future points of data may fall in terms of standard deviations. Taobiz explains Historical Returns Looking at historical data can provide some insight into how a security or market has reacted to a variety of different variables, from regular economic cycles to sudden world events. Investors looking to interpret historical returns should keep one caveat in mind: you can't assume that the future will be like the past. The older the historical return data is, the more likely it is to be less useful when predicting future returns.
A bearer instrument, or bearer bond, is a type of fixed-income security where no ownership information is recorded and the security is issued in physical form to the purchaser. The holder is presumed to be the owner, and whoever is in possession of the physical bond is entitled to the coupon payments. To receive coupon payments, the bondholder must clip the coupons attached to the bond and submit them for payment. This contrasts with book-entry, where ownership information is noted in a computer database and there are no physical bond certificates. |||It has not been legal to issue bearer bonds in the U.S. municipal or corporate markets since 1982. The only bearer bonds available in the secondary market are long-dated maturities issued before this date, which are becoming increasingly scarce.
A technical indicator named after the famous crash of the German airship of the late 1930s. The Hindenburg omen was developed to predict the potential for a financial market crash. It is created by monitoring the number of securities that form new 52-week highs relative to the number of securities that form new 52-week lows - the number of securities must be abnormally large. This criteria is deemed to be met when both numbers are greater than 2.2% of the total number of issues that trade on the NYSE (for that specific day). Taobiz explains Hindenburg Omen Traders use an abnormally high number of 52-week highs/lows because it suggests that market participants are starting to become unsure of the market's future direction and therefore could be due for a major correction. Proponents of this indicator argue that it has been very accurate in predicting sharp sell-offs in the past and that there are few indicators that can predict a market crash as accurately.
A public auction for Treasury bills that is held weekly by the U.S. Treasury. Currently there are 17 authorized primary dealers that are required to bid directly upon each issue. This is the manner in which all U.S. Treasury bills are issued. |||The winning bid on each issue will determine the interest rate that is paid on that issue. once an issue is purchased, the dealers are allowed to hold, sell or trade the bills. The demand for bills at auction is determined by market and economic conditions.
An exotic equity option belonging to a class known as mountain range options. Himalayan options are based on a basket of underlying securities, as opposed to the typical listed (vanilla) option, which has one underlying security. Taobiz explains Himalayan Option The payout for a Himalyan option is based on the average performance of the underlying assets over the life of the option. Periodic measurement dates are established and on each date, a payout is made based on the best-performing security in the basket. This security is then removed from the basket. This process continues until a single security is left. The option's total payout is the sum of all the periodic payments. Himalayan options can be extremely difficult to properly value because the payout is linked to a basket of securities. The content and volatility of the basket will change over time as securities are periodically eliminated. This is why Himalayan options are only held by large institutional investors, typically as a long-term hedge. Asian options also have payouts based on average performance over the life of an option, but just one underlying security is used.
The acquisition of one company by another in the same industry. The new combined entity may be in a better competitive position than the standalone companies that were combined to form it. Horizontal acquisitions expand the capacity of the acquirer, but the basic business operations remain the same. Taobiz explains Horizontal Acquisition The companies involved in a horizontal acquisition generally produce the same goods or services. In a vertical acquisition, on the other hand, the two companies would be in the same industry but at different stages of the production cycle. For example, an acquisition of one energy producer by its larger rival would be a horizontal acquisition, but the acquisition of an oil refining company by an energy producer would be a vertical acquisition.