Business and Personal Finance Dictionary

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• BOND
  
  a certificate that is evidence of a debt. The debt is initiated when the issuer sells the bond to the holder for a specific amount of cash. The issuer is obligated to pay the holder of the bond a fixed sum (the bond's face value) at a stated future date and to pay interest (usually twice a year) at a specified rate during the life of the bond. Bonds may be issued by corporations, the federal government, and by state and local governments as a means of raising funds in the capital markets. Bonds may be issued in registered form, in which the name of the holder is on record with the issuer, or in bearer form, in which the name of the owner is not registered and the bond is payable to whomever bears, or presents the bond to the issuer for redemption.
  
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