During periods of declining interest rates, long-term bonds can provide investors with impressive capital gains. An extraordinary

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During periods of declining interest rates, long-term bonds can provide investors with impressive capital gains. An extraordinary example occurred in the early 1980s. In September 1981, the bond market was pricing long-term bonds to provide a rate of return of 18.5% compounded semiannually. Suppose you had purchased 10% coupon bonds in September 1981 with 20 years remaining until maturity. Four and one-half years later (in March 1986) the bonds could have been sold at a prevailing market rate of 9.7% compounded semiannually. What would have been your semiannually compounded rate of total return on the bonds during the 4 ½ -year period?
Coupon
A coupon or coupon payment is the annual interest rate paid on a bond, expressed as a percentage of the face value and paid from issue date until maturity. Coupons are usually referred to in terms of the coupon rate (the sum of coupons paid in a...
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