The Bond Book: Everything You Need to Know About Treasuries, Municipal, GNMAs, Corporates, Zeros, Funds and More (Paperback)

by Annette Thau (Author) "Basically, a bond is a loan or an IOU..." (more)
Key Phrases: average weighted maturity, bond insurance firms, many bond funds, New York, United States, Wall Street (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
The Bond Book provides all the information an investor needs to buy any security. Fixed income expert Annette Thau explains how to assess the risks and opportunities of individual bonds, as well as how to decipher the language of bond salesman. Also this book shows investors where to get reliable information on the bond market. Specific topics include: Bond market basics; Treasury securities and other federal agency paper; Municipal bonds, corporate bonds and mortgage-backed securities; Bond mutual funds. Managing a bond portfolio.

From the Back Cover
All about Treasuries, munis, bond funds, and more!

The Bond Buyer's Plain-English Answer Book--Updated for Today's Fixed Income Marketplace

"The Bond Book does a superb job of explaining simply and clearly what an investor needs to know about bonds. The second edition improves on upon the first by including recent innovations in the bond market, such as the Treasury's inflation-linked securities, and by discussing the role of the Internet as an investment resource. Investors who are new to the bond market will find this book to be a great guide for how to get started. Seasoned investors will find it to be a handy reference tool."-- Martin J. Mauro, Fixed Income Strategist, Merrill Lynch Private Client Group

"The Bond Book has many good lessons for fixed income investors and managers." - A. Michael Lipper, Chairman and Founder Lipper, Inc.

"The Bond Book by Annette Thau gives the investor the tools to build a secure financial future using cash flow assets. In the book, Ms. Thau carefully details the nuances of the securities, how they work, how to buy and sell them, and what to expect from them. She does it all in very clear, easy-to-understand language with plenty of examples. It's a must for anyone who wants to use the power of compound interest to grow his or her money. This book illuminates what has been a dark corner of the investment world." --Michael Shamosh, Senior Fixed Income Strategist, Gabriele, Hueglin & Cashman

"This book is meant to be practical. It assumes little or no knowledge of any bond investment, but it explains all of the critical information required to buy any security, be it a Treasury bond, a municipal bond, or a bond fund."-- From the Foreword

In today's volatile financial environment, growing numbers of investors are looking to flee the stock market in search of safer ground. While the bond market has often been a "safe haven," confusing new bonds and bond funds make it increasingly difficult for unfamiliar investors to choose the correct fixed income investments.

The Bond Book, Second Edition, provides investors with the information and tools they need to make bonds a comforting, important, and profitable component of their portfolios. This comprehensive sourcebook, thoroughly revised, updated, and expanded from its bestselling first edition, now also includes:
*A new section listing free and low-cost ways to use the Internet--both for researching and buying bonds
*In-depth coverage of recently introduced securities including inflation-indexed bonds, I savings bonds, CMOs, emerging market bonds, and more
*A totally revised and expanded section on bond funds--fully explaining each type of fund along with fund returns from the past 15 years.

The Bond Book cuts through the salesperson's double-talk to give you a broad, useful overview of bonds. Straightforward and clear, it provides specific information and hands-on guidance to make bonds an important part of your investment portfolio--both today and in the future.

"You may, after reading this book, decide to allocate more of your portfolio, or less, to bonds, or to change the mix. Whatever you decide, the information contained in this book will enable you to invest in a more informed manner and, in turn, increase your returns."

The Bond Book is today's best reference for making your best bond investment decisions. Look to this all-in-one guide for information on topics including:
*How to buy Treasuries without paying a commission
*Yield curves
*Types of high yielding savings bonds
*CMOs and REMICs
*Call risk
*Insured versus uninsured municipal bonds
*Tax concerns
*Duration
*Junk bonds
*Bond funds versus individual bonds
*Unit investment trusts and closed-end funds
*Bond ratings
*Index funds
*Asset allocation
*Swaps
*Discount versus premium bonds

Individual investors across the country made the first edition of Annette Thau's The Bond Book a perennial bestseller. Now, as we look toward a new century and investment environment, let the totally revised, thoroughly updated The Bond Book, Second Edition, start you on the path toward making your own bond investment decisions with confidence--based on facts and historical performance figures instead of hype and headlines. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 300 pages
• Publisher: Probus Pub Co (November 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557388091
• ISBN-13: 978-1557388094
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #387,539 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars comprehensive review of bonds, November 3, 2003

By	D. J Najarian (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Bond Book: Everything Investors Need to Know About Treasuries, Municipals, GNMAs, Corporates, Zeros, Bond Funds, Money Market Funds, and More (Hardcover)

This book can help you make money. How? It reviews the history of spreads between Treasuries and Municipals, between Treasuries and Junk bonds, and between Treasuries and other types of bonds/securities. By buying the appropriate security when the spread is abnormally large by a wide margin, which admittedly may only occur once every ten years or so, I believe one could make a ton of money. An example would be to buy junk bonds when the spread between junk and treasuries exceeds 1200 basis points. Another example would be to buy municipals if their yield surpasses the treasury benchmark. Patience will be required, though, since, as the author points out, it is tough to make a killing in the bond market all the time (i.e. the market is usually highly efficient).

The author also does a terrific job pointing out the different types of risk (reinvestment, inflation, currency, interest rates, credit, etc.) for all the different types of securities and duration of securities. She then tells you how to select a security appropriate for your needs given the risks. For example, if you don't want to worry about a rise in rates destroying the value of your bond, buy one that you can hold to maturity and collect at par. Better yet, buy one with a short duration.

In conclusion, any well rounded financier needs to know about bonds--even Warren Buffet--the famous "stock picker"--invests a ton in bonds. This book is a great start to earning this skill.

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good Overview of the Fundementals, October 13, 1999

By A Customer

Thau provides a good, thorough overview of bonds from beginning to end, including what you need to know about "bond math." I came to this book as someone both interested and invested in the stock market and I wanted to expand my knowledge to include other types of investments. The Bond Book definitely served my purpose. I recommend it to any beginner or novice investor looking to learn more about the nuances and varieties of fixed-income securities.

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Intelligent, comprehensive book, November 10, 1999

By A Customer

This is a clear, thorough, comprehensive look at the world of bonds, starting with some general explanations and then going through each major category of bond in turn. The only problem is that the book is getting old and some of the examples and explanations are based on market conditions that no longer exist. However, the book is excellent and certainly stands the test of time.