Exercise
Answer the following questions.
- 1. Treasury bonds and notes pay interest every:
- A. Month
- B. Three months
- C. Six months
- D. Year
- 2. Which of the following is the most likely to be a spread of Treasury bills with a par value of $1,000?
- A. 3.25% – 3.35%
- B. 3.35% – 3.25%
- C. 97.5 – 98.0
- D. 98.0 – 97.5
- 3. How much would you pay for a $1,000 10-year Treasury bond priced at 95.08 (excluding accrued interest)?
- A. $95.08
- B. $950.80
- C. $952.50
- D. $1,000.00
- 4. All of the following are characteristics of Treasury bills except:
- A. They are sold at a discount to the par value.
- B. They pay low periodic interest payments.
- C. They are considered the safest of Treasury securities.
- D. They have a maximum 52-week maturity.
- 5. Trades for U.S. Treasury securities settle:
- A. The next day
- B. The next business day
- C. The day after the next business day
- D. The third day after the next day
Answers
- 1. C. As is the case with most interest-paying bonds, Treasury bonds and notes pay interest semiannually, which means every six months.
- 2. B. T-bills are quoted in yields rather than on a dollar or bond point basis. Because the yield represents the discount that the investor receives of the bill’s par value, an investor will want a larger yield and thus a larger discount to the price. For this reason, when a T-bill spread is quoted, the bid will be higher than the ask. The dealer wants to buy T-bills at a higher disc