Bonds are time-limited debt instruments issued by organizations to raise money for their own financing needs. They are tradeable certificates and can be bought and sold like any other commodity. The owner of the bond is entitled to receive an interest payment each year from the bond issuer until the bond’s lifetime expires, at which point the bond issuer must repay the capital sum originally paid for the bond.
Many different types of organizations issue bonds, including companies and governments. When governments need to raise money for some purpose, they do it primarily through issuing government bonds. Even different agencies within the structure of a government bureaucracy may issue bonds of their own. A local government may issue bonds as well as the central government. Government bonds issued by developed, Western nations are regarded as virtually the safest of all investments because it is considered almost unthinkable that such governments should go bankrupt and default on their debts.
Bonds are priced according to the risk they are perceived to present to investors. Naturally, the longer the lifespan of the bond, the greater the risk that the issuing organization will go bankrupt. The greater the risk is perceived to be, the higher must the interest rate payments on the bond be to compensate. The so-called high-yield investment programs can be a profitable alternative and these platforms give to any individual investor the possibility to invest money online.
