An investment publication states the yield on the U.S. Treasury bond is 4.000%. The publication also states the yields on several long-term bonds, which are listed below. In column three below, report the yield spread of the long-term bonds relative to the U.S. Treasury bond. In column four below, list the characteristics discussed in chapter 3 (liquidity premium, default risk premium, and so forth) that explain the yield spread in column three. In column five below, indicate whether the characteristic increases (+) or decreases (-) the yield spread, all else equal. You do not need to explain the characteristics.

Long-term bonds	Interest rates or yields	Yield spread (bps)	Characteristics explaining the differences	Does characteristic increase (+) or decrease (-) yield spread
Municipal bonds A-rated (A)	3.850%
High yield corporate bonds triple-C-rated (CCC)	10.370%
Argentinian government bonds (unrated)	56.810%