This paper provides a Markov chain model for the term structure and credit risk spreads of bond prices. It allows dependency between the stochastic process modeling the interest rate and the Markov chain process describing changes in the credit rating of the bonds by their mutual dependency on a...

Backwardation, first discussed by Keynes (1923), (1930) and Hicks (1946), is a fee paid by a seller of a security to the buyer for the privilege of deferring delivery. It implies that the futures price falls short of the spot price. The reverse case, 'contango', implies that the futures price...