There is a tremendous amount of information available on prices and yields of Treasuries from a wide variety of sources. Local and national newspapers, cable TV stations, investment advisors and a multitude of websites offer in-depth background and up-to-the-minute data. Two useful websites to look for general information are the Treasury's Bureau of the Public Debt and The Bond Market Association .

The price and yield of newly issued Treasuries are easy to understand. An investment of $1,000 in a new Treasury note bought at face value paying an interest rate of 6.671% will generate $66.71 a year in semi-annual payments.

But, as noted earlier, Treasury securities change in value in response to shifts in interest rates and market forces. How do you calculate the price and yield of a Treasury in that case?

As a first step, it's helpful to learn how to read the prices and yields that are reported in daily newspapers.

Treasury Bonds and Notes
Let's look first at Treasury bonds and notes. Below is a typical newspaper table published April 13, 2000. The calculations are based on a purchase of $1,000 face amount.

• Bid and Ask: These are quotes as a percentage of the note's face value as of mid-afternoon on the previous trading day. Colons in bid-and-asked quotes represent 32nds. The bid is the highest price being offered by buyers. In this example, a bid of 99:19 equals 99 and 19/32, or $995.94. The ask is the lowest price sellers will accept. In this example, an ask of 99:21 equals 99 and 21/32, or $996.56.
• Change:  This refers to the change in the bid price from the previous day. In this example, the bid price has risen 1/32 of a point, or 31 cents per $1,000 face amount.
• Ask Yield: This refers to the yield, or rate of return, that an investor would receive if he or she bought the note at the asked price. RATE The note carries an original interest rate of 5J, or 5.125, percent. It pays interest of $25.62 semi-annually.
• Maturity: The note matures in August 2000. (The small "n" signifies that the security is a note.)

Treasury Bills are quoted differently from quotes for other government obligations since Treasury bills are issued at a discount from par or face value, with the holder receiving full value at maturity .

Here is a typical newspaper table, published April 13, 2000.
Maturity	Days to Maturity	Bid	Asked	Change	Ask Yield
May 25 '00	43	5.59	5.55	-0.01	5.66

• As was mentioned earlier, Treasury bills are short-term instruments with maturities of no more than one year. This particular Treasury bill matures on May 25, only 43 days away.
• The bid is the price at which the buyer is willing to purchase the security, while the ask is the price being sought for the security by the seller.
• Change shows that yesterday's bid price was 5.60.
• The ask yield is the return investors would receive if they paid the ask price and held the bond to maturity.

For investors looking for safety, predictability, and easy liquidity, Treasury securities offer a range of benefits suited to those objectives. They also offer tax advantages, and, because of the market's size, security and demand by other investors, Treasury securities represent the most liquid capital investment in the world .