Foster Business Library Databases:

The Foster Business Library offers an extensive collection of over fifty databases on its homepage; see under Databases. For a complete list of Foster databases, see the List of All Business Databases. Access to these databases from off campus requires that you first go to the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. These resources may not be accessed from off campus except by those with a valid UW Net ID and password. For more information on Foster business databases, click Databases, A-Z. For information on which Foster business databases to use, see the Database Index. For information on accessing Foster databases from off campus, see Database Access. For guidelines on responsible database usage, see Database Usage.
• Bloomberg:   Bloomberg is an online database available only on a dedicated Bloomberg workstation, providing 24-hour current and historical financial quotes, commodity market and economic statistics, business newswires, and descriptive information, research and statistics on over 52,000 companies worldwide. In the Foster Business Library, the Bloomberg workstation is located in the Electronic Reference Area on Public PC #20; it may be identified by the red card on top of the monitor. Use of this workstation is limited to current University of Washington students, faculty and staff. A 17-page guide to using Bloomberg is available, adjacent to the workstation, in a black binder with Bloomberg on the spine. For more about Bloomberg, click here.

  Bloomberg is very powerful database for bond data and information, for all types of bonds. Go to function key F2 for government bonds, F3 for corporate bonds, and F6 for municipal bonds. As an example, to find government bond information, type F2 GOVT and then GGR to select the type of bond and use the menu options. To find historical prices for a specific government bonds or notes, type F2 GOVT and go to Finding & Creating Securities (#1), then to Ticker Symbol Lookup (#1); select #14 (USA) from the country list. Select T (#8) and use the list of specific bond options.

• Global Financial Data:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, under Other Business Databases.   This database provides access to over 20,000 series of long-term global financial and economic data, both current and historic, gathered from original sources and historic archives, for more than 200 countries. Data is in ASCII or Microsoft Excel format.  

  See this database's information and data on bond indices, corporate and government bond yields, and total return indices for bonds.

• Mergent Online:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Business Databases.   Online access to the print edition of the Mergent Manuals, with extensive information on 11,000 U.S. and 17,000 international companies, including financials, stock, properties, joint ventures, annual reports, subsidiaries, S.E.C. filings, etc. For search tips, see About Mergent Online.

  This database has long term debt information, including bond ratings, for a large number of U.S. and foreign companies. Search by company and look for the tab for Long-Term Debt for details.

• Standard & Poor's NetAdvantage:   On the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Databases. Full text for the following S&P publications:   Bond Guide; Corporation Records; Dividend Record; Earnings Guide; Industry Surveys; Mutual Fund Reports; The Outlook; Register of Corporations, Directors and Executives; Security Dealers of North America; Stock Guide; and Stock Reports.

  The bond information in this database is for corporate bonds only. This database also offers a sophisticated corporate bond screener.

Web Resources:

Unlike library databases, Web resources are available wherever you have web access; they do not require that you access them via the Off-Campus Access button, in the upper right of all library webpages. When using web resources, be sure to evaluate the credibility of these resources. For a subject index to web resources, see Business Resources on the Web on the Foster Business Library homepage.
• Bond Market Association:   This site, called Bond Markets.Com, is the homepage for The Bond Market Association, "the trade association representing the largest securities markets in the world, the $17 trillion debt markets. As the industry's voice, the Association speaks for the bond industry, advocating its positions and representing its interests in New York; Washington, D.C.; London; Frankfurt; Brussels and Tokyo; and with issuer and investor groups worldwide." This site provides research and statistics about the bond markets, policy information about the bond industry and marketplace, links to other bond information sources and associations, publications, etc. See also their section on Investing in Bonds.

• Bond Market Commentary:   A.G. Edwards also offers daily and weekly commentary on the condition of the bond markets, with the added bonus of features such as Model Bond Portfolios, Bond Calculators, Bond Types, Average Yields, and Bond Terms.

• Bonds Online:   This site offers information about all types of bonds, including municipals, treasuries, corporate, etc. It features articles and commentary on the bond market, bond portfolios, fixed income issues, bond basics, investing in bonds, bond funds, a bond glossary, links to rating agencies, to SEC Edgar, a lot of good how-to guides, and much more.

• BradyNet:   Brady Bond information mega-site. Brady Bonds, according to InvestorWords.Com, are a "U.S. dollar-denominated bond issued by an emerging market, particularly those in Latin America, and collateralized by U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds. Brady bonds arose from an effort in the 1980s to reduce the debt held by less-developed countries that were frequently defaulting on loans."

• Buying Bills, Notes, Bonds and Savings Bonds:   This site, from Bankrate.Com, provides a useful short primer on buying bills, notes, bonds and savings bonds.

• Corporate Finance Live:   This site provides a number of interactive tutorials related to corporate finance. The tutorials include topics such as Bond Valuation. This site was created by a professor in the School of Management at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis:   This site is a good source for treasury yield rates. See Selected Interest Rates and U.S. Financial Data.

• Kiplinger Online:   This site offers personal finance and investment advice as well as general consumer and business news. A paid subscription also allows the user access to the various Kiplinger letters. The site also ranks stock and bond funds and provides stock quotes. Kiplinger Online also offers a page of calculators to help the user make decisions about home purchases, investments and loan rates.

• NASD BondInfo:   This site, from the National Association of Securities Dealers, was designed to provide market information for investors in corporate bonds, in order to make the transactions in that market more transparent and investment decisions more informed. Bond issues may be searched by name, CUSIP, symbol, by maturity, by coupon rate, by ratings, and by industry group, with a variety of sorting options for results. There are also sections for Daily Changes and a Glossary of bond terms.

• Rates & Bonds:   This site, from Bloomberg.Com, offers market data for the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Germany, Japan, and the United Kingdom, with key rates, mortgages, treasuries, inflation-indexed treasuries, municipal bonds, and related news, all free except for annoying popup ads.

• Yahoo! Bond Center:   This site is an excellent starting point for bond research, with a bond glossary, Bonds 101, bond calculators, a bond screener, a bond market summary and commentary, and the latest corporate bond rates. It's also a good source for current and historical treasury issues, under Yahoo Finance, Major U.S. Indices; see Treasury Securities, for 30-year bonds, 10-year notes, 5-year notes, and 13-week bills. For instance, for 30-year bonds, click on Chart for 30-year Treasury bonds and then scroll down to Historical Quotes, on the lower right corner of the chart for daily, weekly, or monthly open, high, low and close numbers; adjust the date range as needed. For an explanation of bond ratings, click here.

• Wikipedia:   This free online user-created and maintained encyclopedia, Wikipedia, can be a good starting point for an orientation to a topic. See their informative entry for Bonds.

Foster Business Library Reference Collection:

The Foster Business Library Reference Collection consists of business handbooks, encyclopedias, dictionaries, and other quick reference tools. It is located behind the Reference Desk in Foster, arranged by call number. Reference materials cannot be checked out; they may only be used in the library.
• Market share reporter.
  Annual two-volume compilation of U.S. and world market share data for companies, products and services, arranged by SIC code, and with indexes by product, company and topic.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HF5410 .M35 2005.

  See Bonds in volume two, in tables 3121 and 3125 on pages 800 and 801.

• Dictionary of finance and investment terms.
  Published by Barrons, this small, thick paperback defines and explains over 4,000 finance and investment terms, including many related to bonds.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG151 .D69 1998.
  (Also available, to UW students, faculty and staff, online.)

• Standard & Poor's guide to personal finance.
  This paperback covers all aspects of personal finance and financial planning. See the section on bonds, on pages 47 to 54, with an explanation of S&P bond ratings, on page 52.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG179 .D697 2005.

• Business rankings annual.
  This annual volume provides 5,000 rankings of companies, products, services and business activities, with data culled from thousands of sources.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4050 .B88 2004.

  See Bonds on pages 109 to 113.

• Standard & Poor's creditweek.
  This weekly publication covers ratings trends, changes, news and articles on governmental and corporate bonds, worldwide.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4501 .S7662 (Weekly)

• The Irwin guide to stocks, bonds, futures, and options.
  This fairly recent reference includes chapters on treasuries securities, corporate fixed-income securities, municipal securities, and asset-backed securities, with market overviews, conventions, structure, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4521 .L637 2001.

• The repo handbook.
  This handbook is a guide to the global debt markets, and specifically, the repo markets that bridge the money and capital markets, and thus the bond markets. The instruments, mechanics, and markets of the repo world are examined in the context of world capital markets. See the chapters on the bond markets in chapters two and three, on pages 9 through 69.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4523 .C46 2002.

• Fixed income markets and their derivatives.
  This volume provides an overview of the markets for fixed-income securities and fixed-income derivatives, with an examination of the issues involved in each market.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4650 .S86 1997.

• The bond & money markets: strategy, trading, analysis.
  This heavy volume of more than 1,000 pages, published by the Securities Institute in London, provides introductions to the various bond and money markets, risk management, derivative instruments, trading and hedging, advanced fixed income analytics, portfolio management, technical analysis, credit derivatives, and emerging bond markets (with a glossary at the end).
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .C6795 2001.

• All about bonds and bond mutual funds.
  This paperback is subtitled "the easy way to get started," covering portfolio diversification, convertible bonds and inflation-indexed treasuries, as well as international bonds and international bond funds.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .F29 2000.

• Handbook of fixed income securities.
  Now in its sixth edition, this 1,300-page volume covers all types of fixed income securities, starting with bonds, treating risk, bond pricing and returns, interest rate structures, bond market indices, all types of bonds, including international and Brady Bonds, credit analysis, and portfolio management.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .H265 2001.

• How the bond market works.
  Published by the New York Institute of Finance, this second edition paperback is an introduction to the bond business, covering different bond instruments and trends in fixed income securities and individual markets.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .H68 1997.

• Mergent annual bond record.
  Formerly known as Moody's annual bond record, this annual provides a history of a year's corporate and municipal bond rating activity, including preferred stock ratings, with a guide to bond ratings, new issues, ratings upgrades, downgrades and withdrawals during the year, issues matured, maturing or redeemed in the year, new preferred stock, and upgraded and downgraded municipal bond ratings for the year.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .M66

• Bond tables.
  This three-book set, labeled Bond Tables, Bond Tables II, and Bond Tables III, provides information "that may be used to help evaluate the risks and opportunities inherent in purchasing bonds" with how much bond prices, yields and returns "might rise or fall for specific probabilities."
  Bond tables of probable future yields.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .M872 1996.
  Bond tables of probable future prices.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .M8722 1997.
  Bond tables of probable future returns.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .M8723 1997.

• Mergent bond record.
  Formerly known as Moody's bond record, this monthly publication covers all types of bonds, with new, revised, and matured issues, Moody's bond ratings, corporate bond yield averages, U.S. corporate and convertible bonds, international corporate and convertible bonds, structured finance issues, equipment trusts, bank loan ratings, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .M662 (Monthly)

• Bond market rules.
  This book is subtitled "50 investing axioms to master bonds for income or trading," in 50 chapters of about three pages each, from #1, When Interest Rates Rise, Bond Prices Fall, to #50, Learn the Language of Bonds.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .S466 2000.

• The bond book.
  "Everything investors need to know about treasuries, municipals, GNMAs, corporates, zeros, bond funds, money market funds, and more," with detailed chapters on each type of bond.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4651 .T447 2001.

• Bond guide.
  This monthly publication, from Standard & Poor's, covers 7,000 issues including 6,800 U.S. and 560 foreign bonds plus 320 convertible bonds, with yield indices, bond ratings, changes, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4905 .S435 (Monthly)

• Stocks, bonds, bills, and inflation yearbook.
  Also known as the SBBI Yearbook, this annual publication from Ibbotson Associates, covers market results from 1926 to the end of the previous year, with historical bond return rates, government bonds, treasury bills, returns, etc.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4905 .S75 (Annual)

• Stocks, bonds, options, futures.
  Published by the New York Institute of Finance, this second edition devotes separate chapters to fixed income securities (including bonds), U.S. treasury bonds, corporate bonds, and municipal bonds.
  Foster Business Library Reference, CALL NUMBER: HG4921 .S7945 2001.

The Foster Business Library maintains a collection of over 70,000 books on all business topics. To search for materials on all three campuses of the University of Washington, go to the UW Libraries Catalog, in the upper left corner of the Foster Business Library homepage. Search by keyword, title, author, series, etc.

To limit the results of your search just to materials in the Foster Business Library collection, use the Modify or Limit options at the top of the search results and change the library location to Foster Business Library. Availablity is indicated on the right of each online catalog record. First, note in which collection, within Foster, your materials are in, since the library has ten different Collections, each in a different location and often with differing arrangements. "Available" indicates that the book should be on the shelves under that call number and available for you to check out. "Due" and a date indicates that the book is already checked out to someone and is due back on the date indicated; you can have the "Request/Place Hold" feature to recall the book for your use.

If the material you want is not in the collections of the University of Washington, you can use the "Search Summit" feature to repeat your search in the combined holdings of over thirty cooperating libraries in Washington and Oregon. Use the "Request This Item" feature in Summit to have books in those library sent here to Foster for you to check out.

The Foster general stacks collection is located south of the main part of the Foster Business Library, through the two pass-throughs into the basement of Balmer. The arrangement is by call number, from A (at the east end, near the Copy Center) to Z (at the far west end).

A keyword search for Bonds, limited to the Foster Business Library, retrieved a list of over 200 records. A subject search for Bonds, limited to the Foster Business Library, retrieved a list of over 140 records and links to 15 related subjects, from Bondholders to Stocks.

See also related subjects such as:

• Debts, Public
• Government Securities
• Municipal Bonds
• State Bonds

Examples of titles in the Foster Business Library's collections include:

• Developing corporate bond markets in Asia   (2006)
• Bonds and bond derivatives   (2005)
• The new masters of capital: American bond rating agencies and the politics of creditworthiness   (2005)
• Analysing and interpreting the yield curve   (2004)
• The bond king: investment secrets from PIMCO's Bill Gross   (2004)
• Inside the yield book: the classic that created the science of bond analysis   (2004)
• Corporate bonds and structured financial products   (2004)
• Inflation-indexed securities: bonds, swaps and other derivatives   (2004)
• Fixed income securities : valuation, risk management and portfolio strategies   (2003)

In addition to the 800 journals in the Foster Business Library Periodicals Collection, the Foster Business Library offers access to over 100 million full text articles in over 10,000 periodicals through its full text article databases such as EBSCO Business Source Premier, Factiva, LexisNexis Academic, and ProQuest Databases. These article databases may be found on the Foster Business Library homepage, listed under Databases.

All four of these databases are available from any computer on the campus network as well as from home (via the UW Connectivity Kit or the Libraries' Off-Campus Access link, using your UW Net ID and password). The easiest of these databases to use is ProQuest Databases. For more information about accessing Foster Business Library databases from off campus, see Database Access. For more information about business databases, see the research guide entitled Databases, A to Z.

• ProQuest Databases:

  This database--actually, a family of over two dozen databases--offers full text articles for over 10,000 publications, including scholarly journals, magazines, trade and industry periodicals, newspapers, and reports on a very wide range of topics. To find articles on specific topics, search by word or phrase by keying your search phrase into the search box--or search for your topic in the Topic Guide. Article full text is often available in several formats, including text, text plus graphics, and PDF. This database also offers a very useful subject structure, to narrow search results, as well as article citation information.

  Your search terms will be highlighted in red in each article. For tips on searching this database, see About ProQuest Databases.

  This database includes in its subject list Bond Issues (over 10,000 articles), Bond Markets (also over 10,000 articles), Bond Ratings (over 5,800 articles), and Bonds (over 26,000 articles). Each of these subject terms is also associated with narrowing subjects that allow you to focus your search and reduce the number of articles to more manageable levels. See the Topics to access these subject and narrowing terms.

  Examples of articles from these searches include:

  • "Positive Signs for Bonds Abound"   (Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Nov 13, 2006.  pg. C.2)
  • "'Junk' Bond Issuance Hits Record"   (Wall Street Journal. (Eastern edition). New York, N.Y.: Nov 10, 2006.  pg. C.4)
  • "Fed Warns Of Illicit Bond Activity"   (The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: Nov 7, 2006.  pg. D.1)
  • "Bonds for Boomers"   (Financial Planning. New York: Jun 1, 2006.  pg. 1)
  • "Rankings: Top-Performing Stock and Bond Mutual Funds"   (Kiplinger's Personal Finance. Washington: Apr 2006. Vol. 60, Iss. 4;  pg. 68, 70)
  • "Ignore bondholders at your peril"   (International Financial Law Review. London: Apr 2006.  pg. 1)
  • "So Who Needs Bonds Anyway?"   (Money. New York: Jan 2006. Vol. 35, Iss. 1;  pg. 66, 2 pgs)
  • "How To Pick a Good Bond Fund"   (Forbes. New York: Sep 19, 2005. Vol. 176, Iss. 5;  pg. 200)
  • "Determinants of Flows into Retail Bond Funds"   (Financial Analysts Journal. Charlottesville: Jul/Aug 2005. Vol. 61, Iss. 4;  pg. 47, 13 pgs)

The Foster Business Library Reference Desk is staffed nearly all the hours that the library is open. The staff at the desk will be happy to help you find research tools on any business subject. For e-mail questions, direct your query to balib@u.washington.edu. For assistance by telephone, dial (206) 543-8012 during library hours.

See also the Foster Business Library's Business & Economics FAQ, and, in particular, the section for Finance.

For research guides on a wide variety of industries, products, companies, issues and topics, see the Team Librarian Consultation archives.

• Team Consultation Archives (arranged by class or program)
• Team Consultation Archives (arranged by industry)
• Team Consultation Archives (arranged by title of assignment)
• Team Consultation Archives (arranged by academic quarter)
• Index to all Team Consultations and Research Guides