政府、
公司或机构借款的法律合约。债券发行人(即借款人)承诺向债券持有人在约定时间内按约定的
利率支付利息，并在债券到期时按面额
赎回债券。理论上，投资债券比投资
股票安全，因为债券的回报通常都是事先即可确定的，有明确的期限，而且
公司必须先支付债券持有人方可向
股东分配获利。但如果
公司倒闭，债券持有人与
股东一样可能会损失惨重。
参见Convertible Bond（可转换债券），
Bearer Shares/Bearer Bonds（不记名股票/债券），
Bullet Bond（一次性偿还债券），
Fixed Income（固定收入），
Senior Secured Debt（优先有担保的债务）。
A
bond is a legal contract in which a government, company or institution (the borrower) issues an IOU certificate, which promises to pay holders a specific rate of interest for a fixed
duration and then redeem the contract at
face value on
maturity. In theory bonds are safer than equities because they have a fixed maturity and are repaid before any payments are made to shareholders. But if a company fails, its bond holders suffer just as much as its shareholders.
See also: Convertible Bond, Bearer Shares, Bullet Bond, Fixed Income, Senior Secured Debt
