Облигации - текст из Investopedia с русскоязычными эквивалентами сложных фраз

BONDS (ОБЛИГАЦИИ)

Just as people need money, so do companies and governments. A company needs funds to expand into new markets (средства для продвижения на новые рынки), while governments need money for everything from infrastructure to social programs. The problem large organizations run into (проблема, с которой сталкиваются крупные организации) is that they typically need far (гораздо) more money than the average bank can provide. The solution (решение) is to raise money (добыть деньги) by issuing bonds (выпустив облигации) to a public market. Thousands of investors then each lend a portion of the capital needed (требуемого капитала). Really, a bond is nothing more than a loan for which you are the lender. The organization that sells a bond is known as the issuer. You can think of a bond as an IOU (долговая расписка) given by a borrower (the issuer) to a lender (the investor).

Of course, nobody would loan his or her hard-earned (с трудом заработанные деньги) money for nothing. The issuer of a bond must pay the investor something extra for the privilege of using his or her money. This "extra" comes in the form of interest payments (выплаты процента), which are made at a predetermined rate (изначально определенной ставке) and schedule (графику). The interest rate is often referred to as the coupon (такую процентную ставку часто называют купоном). The date on which the issuer has to repay (погасить/вернуть) the amount borrowed (known as face value (номинальная стоимость)) is called the maturity date (дата погашения/дата окончания срока действия ценной бумаги). Bonds are known as fixed-income securities (ценные бумаги с фиксированным доходом) because you know the exact amount of cash you'll get back if you hold the security until maturity.

For example, say you buy a bond with a face value of $1,000, a coupon of 8%, and a maturity (здесь: сроком обращения) of 10 years. This means you'll receive a total of $80 ($1,000*8%) of interest per year for the next 10 years. Actually, because most bonds pay interest semi-annually (раз в полгода), you'll receive two payments of $40 a year for 10 years. When the bond matures after a decade (когда через 10 лет срок обращения облигации закончится), you'll get your $1,000 back.

Debt Versus Equity (долговые обязательства в сравнении с долевым участием)
Bonds are debt (долговые ценные бумаги), whereas (тогда как) stocks are equity (долевые ценные бумаги). This is the important distinction (отличие) between the two securities. By purchasing equity (stock) an investor becomes an owner (владельцем) in a corporation. Ownership (право собственности) comes with voting rights (сопровождается правом голоса) and the right to share in (участия в) any future profits. By purchasing debt (bonds) an investor becomes a creditor to the corporation (or government). The primary advantage (основное преимущество) of being a creditor is that you have a higher claim on assets (большее право требования на активы) than shareholders do: that is, in the case of bankruptcy, a bondholder will get paid before a shareholder (т.е. в случае банкротства держатель облигации получит свои деньги раньше, чем акционер). However, the bondholder does not share in the profits if a company does well - he or she is entitled (имеет право) only to the principal (принципал, т.е. основная сумма долга) plus interest.

Why Bother With Bonds?

It's an investing axiom that stocks return more (акции приносят больше прибыли) than bonds. In the past, this has generally been true for time periods of at least 10 years or more. However, this doesn't mean you shouldn't invest in bonds. Bonds are appropriate (уместны/подходят) any time you cannot tolerate (выносить/выдерживать) the volatility (нестабильность) of the stock market.

Bonds have a number of characteristics of which you need to be aware. All of these factors play a role in determining the value of a bond and the extent to which it fits in your portfolio.

Face Value/Par Value (номинальная стоимость)

The face value (also known as the par value or principal) is the amount of money a holder (держатель) will get back once a bond matures (при наступлении срока погашения облигации). A newly issued bond usually sells at the par value. Corporate bonds normally have a par value of $1,000, but this amount can be much greater for government bonds.
What confuses many people is that the par value is not the price of the bond. A bond's price fluctuates (колеблется) throughout its life in response to (реагируя) a number of variables (параметры/переменные факторы). When a bond trades at a price above the face value, it is said to be selling at a premium (с премией/выше номинальной стоимости). When a bond sells below face value, it is said to be selling at a discount (со скидкой/ниже номинала).


Coupon (The Interest Rate)

The coupon (купон) is the amount (сумма) the bondholder will receive as interest payments (процентных платежей). It's called a "coupon" because sometimes there are physical coupons on the bond that you tear off (отрываете) and redeem (здесь: отдаете) for interest. However, this was more common in the past. Nowadays, records are more likely to be kept electronically.
As previously mentioned (как отмечалось выше), most bonds pay interest every six months, but it's possible for them to pay monthly, quarterly (поквартально) or annually. The coupon is expressed as a percentage of the par value (определяется как доля номинальной стоимости, выраженная в %). If a bond pays a coupon of 10% and its par value is $1,000, then it'll pay $100 of interest a year. A rate that stays as a fixed percentage of the par value like this is a fixed-rate bond. Another possibility is an adjustable (корректируемая) interest payment, known as a floating-rate bond (облигация с плавающей ставкой). In this case the interest rate is tied to (привязывается к) market rates through an index.
You might think investors will pay more for a high coupon than for a low coupon. All things being equal (при равных условиях), a lower coupon means that the price of the bond will fluctuate more.


Maturity

The maturity date (дата погашения) is the date in the future on which the investor's principal will be repaid (будет возвращен принципал инвестора). Maturities (сроки обращения) can range from as little as one day to as long as 30 years.
A bond that matures in one year is much more predictable (предсказуема) and thus less risky than a bond that matures in 20 years. Therefore (поэтому), in general, the longer the time to maturity, the higher the interest rate. Also, all things being equal, a longer term bond will fluctuate more than a shorter term bond.


Issuer (эмитент)

The issuer of a bond is a crucial factor to consider (важный фактор, который следует принять во внимание), as the issuer's stability is your main assurance of getting paid back (основная гарантия возврата вам денег). For example, the U.S. government is far more secure (стабильно) than any corporation. Its default risk (риск непогашения обязательств) is extremely small - so small that U.S. government securities are known as risk-free assets (безрисковые активы). The reason behind this is that a government will always be able to bring in future revenue through taxation (получить доход посредством налогообложения). A company, on the other hand, must continue to make profits, which is far from guaranteed (что едва ли гарантировано). This added risk means corporate bonds must offer a higher yield (доходность) in order to entice (соблазнить) investors.

The bond rating system (система рейтинга облигаций) helps investors determine (определить) a company's credit risk. Think of a bond rating as the report card («табель успеваемости») for a company's credit rating. Blue-chip firms (фирмы с первоклассной репутацией), which are safer investments, have a high rating, while risky companies have a low rating. The chart below illustrates the different bond rating scales from the major rating agencies in the U.S.: Moody's, Standard and Poor's and Fitch Ratings.

Таблица с рейтингами - http://www.money-zine.com/Investing/Investing/Bond-Ratings/

*Junk (not-investment)(с высокой доходностью и высокой степенью риска; junk = бумажные отходы)
*In Default (нарушены обязательства)

Notice that if the company falls below a certain credit rating, its grade changes from investment quality to junk status. Junk bonds are aptly (надлежащим образом) named: they are the debt (долговые инструменты) of companies in some sort of financial difficulty. Because they are so risky, they have to offer much higher yields than any other debt. This brings up an important point: not all bonds are inherently (по своей природе) safer than stocks. Certain types of bonds can be just as risky, if not riskier, than stocks.