The process of bond valuation is based on the fundamental concept that the current price of a security can be determined by calculating the present value of the cash flows that the security will generate in the future. There is a consistent and predictable relationship between a bond's coupon rate, its par value, a bondholder's required return, and the bond's resulting intrinsic value. Trading at a discount, trading at a premium, and trading at par refer to particular relationships between a bond's intrinsic value and its par value. These result from the relationship between a bond's coupon rate and a bondholder's required rate of return. Remember, a bond's coupon rate partially determines the interest-based return that a bond will pay, and a bondholder's required return reflects the return that a bondholder would like to receive from a given investment. would like is obligated