ABSTRACT
A bond is a debt instrument issued in bearer or registered form. It constitutes a commitment by the issuer:
to pay a specified sum or sums of money to the holder at a predetermined date or dates;
to pay interest to the holder at stated intervals either at a fixed rate agreed at the outset or on a floating rate basis often at a margin over a given benchmark, i.e. Libor or an agreed index, e.g. the FTSE index or gold.
