Fixed-Rate vs. Floating-Rate Bonds

shoegaze psybient, koto drill and bass

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Lyrics

[Verse 1]
Sarah buys a bond that pays her five percent each year
Every coupon check arrives exactly as it's engineered
Ten thousand dollars borrowed, five hundred always flows
Fixed-rate certainty, that's how this story goes

[Verse 2]
Meanwhile Jack selects a floater tied to treasury rates
When benchmark numbers climb or fall, his payment fluctuates
SOFR plus two percent becomes his monthly bread
Variable income streams dance inside his head

[Chorus]
Fixed stays steady when the market shakes
Floating follows every move the benchmark makes
Interest rate risk splits two different ways
Fixed fears rising, floating dreads the fall of rates

[Verse 3]
Market rates spike up to eight from where they used to be
Sarah's locked at five percent, opportunity flees
Jack's floater lifts with tide, now earning seven-three
His payments grew while hers stayed put stubbornly

[Verse 4]
But when the cycle turns and rates come crashing down
Jack's income shrinks to two while Sarah keeps her crown
Fixed-rate holders smile when benchmark numbers slide
Floating-rate investors watch their payments slowly die

[Chorus]
Fixed stays steady when the market shakes
Floating follows every move the benchmark makes
Interest rate risk splits two different ways
Fixed fears rising, floating dreads the fall of rates

[Bridge]
Duration matters more when coupons never change
Price sensitivity makes fixed bonds feel strange
Floaters reset quickly, shield from price decay
Different risks demand different hedging play

[Outro]
Choose your poison wisely in the bond parade
Fixed or floating, either way the price gets paid

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