Then I guess the next question would be, how to determine what the proper/fair price for a corporate bond is? Other than using a Bloomberg terminal and crunching the numbers yourself that is Thank you.
Given how elusive the concept of a "fair price" isn't the first place, not even a bbg terminal is going to help.
@HappyTrader ....since bond prices are quoted in yield in the industry the proper/ fair price would be in line with similar listings with the same characteristics including Interest rate of the coupon, credit quality of the issuer and maturity. If this yield is higher (price lower) or visa versa than a peer bond the buyer has to make a determination if based on the credit quality of the underlying if this is a good investment or not. This is what the whole field of credit analysis is about. Individual bonds generally (although not always) trade off fundamentals vs technicals.
@drenaud , @Ryan81 , @others : Re: margin trading with IB, the IB website is a bit confusing. Can either of you add some practical knowledge about trading corporate debt with IB? The website says industry standard of 10% initial margin for investment grade debt - does that ring true? For example, if I am long $100k IG at par with $10k margin, yielding 3% let's say, borrowing costs on the $90k at ~$2600/yr, am I correct to say I would net +$400 in cash flow?