The dividend on common stock is not guaranteed often not paid not constant all of these An investor would pay more than face value for a bond because their required return is more than the coupon rate the bond pays they want their yield to be lower in order to invest they must be the high bidder the bond is a "high yield bond" In the US, corporate bonds pay interest semiannually monthly weekly quarterly The actual market price of a stock at a given point in time is determined by the marginal investor the stock exchange the Federal Reserve investment banks