Peeing in a trash can instead of walking 50 feet to the bathroom is not funny. Raiding you neighborâs cooler is not funny. Building an 8 foot tall bonfire is not funny. Asking if you can wear the park rangerâs hat is not funny. Guess whose job it is to tell them that they are not funny: the park ranger.
The main difference between yields and interest rates is that each term refers to different financial instruments. Yield commonly refers to the dividend, interest or return the investor receives from a security like a stock or bond, and is usually reported as an annual figure.
Yield to maturity is a useful measure of the attractiveness of a seasoned bond that is held to maturity and redeemed at par value. For example, suppose you buy a $1000 par value ABC Company bond with a 5% coupon rate maturing in five years, and the market price for the bond is $900.