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Bonds
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The legitimacy of Bonds' homerun record has been under intense scrutiny due to questions about possible steroid use. Bonds' alleged long-time steroid abuse is detailed in a new book, "Game of Shadows," written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters. When asked about the book, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, who spoke with XM's Schmidt and Castellano shortly after Bonds, said he was more interested in reviewing the material on which the book is based than he is in the book itself.
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Bonds are debt, whereas stocks are equity. This is the important distinction between the two securities. By purchasing equity (stock) an investor becomes an owner in a corporation. Ownership comes with voting rights and the right to share in any future profits. By purchasing debt (bonds) an investor becomes a creditor to the corporation (or government). The primary advantage of being a creditor is that you have a higher claim on assets than shareholders do: that is, in the case of bankruptcy, a bondholder will get paid before a shareholder.
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Bonds were... and still are given to secure performance of a variety of matters other than the payment of a sum of money at a fixed date. They may be given and are given, for instance, 1 This word, meaning "that which binds," is a phonetic variant of "band," and is derived from the Teutonic root seen in bindan, to bind; it must be distinguished from the obsolete "bond," meaning originally a householder. In the laws of Canute this word is used as equal to the Old English ceorl (see Churl), and thus, as the churl's position became less free after the Norman Conquest, the "bond" approximated to the "villein," and still later to the "serf." The word is in Old English bonda, and appears in "husband" (q.v.), and is derived from the root of the verb bz a, to dwell, to have a house, the Latin colere, and thus in origin is cognate with German Bauer and English "boor," The transition in meaning to the idea of serfdom, and hence to slavery, is due to an early confusion with "bond," from "bind." The same wrong connexion appears in the transition of meaning in "bondage," properly "tenure in villeinage," but now used as synonymous with "slavery." A trace of the early meaning still survives in "bondager" (q.v.).
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Bonds markets are considered very efficient and fees should be examined carefully and ideally avoided entirely if possible. Worth magazine ran an article in November 1996 titled "Losers out the gate" which begins "Let's be blunt: government securities mutual funds don't deserve to exist." The reasoning is that "In this part of the fixed-income market, coughing up management fees for active management almost never pays off." David P. Goldman expressed similar thoughts in his 10/21/96 Forbes article titled "When bond fund managers get bored" which discusses how little active management can increase returns when the yield spread between 30 year corporates and 30 year treasury securities is under 1%. "The lesson here for mutual fund investors is this: There's little point owning a mutual fund that invests in high-grade corporates right now because there is little the manager can do to earn his keep." Here's a Forbes article on how to decide between buying bonds directly or in a fund.
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Bonds was indicted for allegedly making false statements to the grand jury that investigated the BALCO steroids distribution ring, the U.S. attorney's office in San Francisco said. Bonds is accused of four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.
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Rains said she was miffed that Bonds didn’t pay her the nearly $200,000 she demanded when their 10-year relationship ended in 2003. Bell said she was asking Bonds to keep a promise to buy her house in Arizona, but Rains said the demand amounted to extortion.
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