Question 1.
Security: AAA AA A BBB BB
Yield (%) 6.2 6.4 6.7 7.0 7.5
Consolidated Insurance wants to raise $35 million in order to build a new headquarters. The company will fund this by issuing 10-year bonds with a face value of $1,000 and a coupon rating of 6.5%, paid semiannually. The above table shows the yield to maturity for similar 10-year corporate bonds of different ratings. Which of the following is closest to how many more bonds Consolidated Insurance would have to sell to raise this money if their bonds received an A rating rather than an AA rating?
A. 750
B. 1156
C. 686
D. 765
Question 2. The following table summarizes prices of various default-free zero-coupon bonds (expressed as a percentage of face value):
Maturity (years): 1 2 3 4 5
Price (per $100 face value): 94.52 89.68 85.40 81.65 78.35
The yield to maturity for the three-year zero-coupon bond is closest to:
A. 5.4%
B. 5.8%
C. 5.6%
D. 6.0%