Below are the answers to some of the questions most frequently asked about bonds.

How do bond prices move?

Bond prices move in two ways. Usually, the price movements are governed by market forces. When traders buy or cover a bond, the price rises. Conversely, when traders sell or short a bond, the price drops. Trying to make money just based on these movements is tricky as you need to time the swings just right or you’ll lose your shirt. The other kind of movement is bond adjustments, when bond prices are adjusted based on the box office performance of an actor or director’s recent movie.

When do bonds adjust?

The bonds attached to a given movie adjust the day after the movie delists. Movies generally delist on Monday, so bonds generally adjust on Tuesday. Check the HSX Calendar for changes to the normal schedule. The calendar also lists all the bonds adjusting each week.

How do bonds adjust?

The rules governing bond adjusts are explained in the article Bonds 101.

My favorite actor doesn’t have a bond. Why not?

D. Mac is in charge of issuing new bonds. E-mail him at macdaddy@hsx.com to ask him to IPO the bond. Be sure to include as much information as possible about the star and upcoming projects listed on HSX.

How do I make money with bonds?

Pay attention to adjusts that might happen in the next few months. Trying to ride the market with a bond that doesn’t have any upcoming adjusts is difficult at best. Bonds with no upcoming adjusts tend to move haphazardly and in the opposite direction than expected. After you master the basics, check out Bickle Jr.’s Advanced Bond Trading for more advanced trading tips.

Two actors each had cameos in the same movie. Why does one adjust for it while the other doesn’t?

HSX can’t scan every movie to determine whether or not a certain actor appeared. Instead, they use a movie’s official press kit to determine whether an actor will be credited for a particular movie. This can sometimes be frustrating to HSX traders because a seemingly obvious actor isn’t be credited, but those are the rules. Other sources such as IMDb, movie posters, and Hollywood news sites are not used to determine HSX credits.

What is a TAG?

A TAG is a bond’s trailing average gross. It is equal to the sum of cumulative box office of the actor’s latest five credited films divided by five. If there are only four films in a TAG, divide by four instead of five. If there are three or fewer films, divide by three.

How can I tell what movies count for a certain actor’s TAG?

The best source is the actor’s bond page at HSX. The bond pages also provide links the included movies where you can find the box office gross included in the TAG.

Does a movie count twice towards a star’s TAG if he both stars in and directs the film? What if the star also produces the movie?

A movie only counts once in the TAG regardless of how many hats an actor wears. In addition, TAGs only reflect acting and directing credits. Producing credits are not included.

Why doesn’t the TAG listed on a bond’s profile page match its TAG as of its last adjust?

When a bond adjusts, its price is set equal to its new TAG. However, since a TAG is based on the cumlative box office-to-date of a star’s films, it constantly changes if it includes movies still in theaters. TAGs are therefore updated weekly based on the current cumulative box office of any credited films still in release. Remember, though, that a bond’s price is only adjusted to match its TAG when a credited movie is delisted.

MOVIE grossed $300 million. How come it only counts as $250 million in its credited stars’ TAGs?

The box office for any one movie is capped at $250 million when calculating TAGs. This is done so one movie will not have a disproportionate impact on a bond’s TAG.

When calculating a new TAG, if two movies have the same release date, which is removed first?

If two movies have the same release date, the movie with the smaller box office total is removed from the TAG first.

If a bond adjusts for two movies on the same day, will it have two separate adjusts? Which movie will adjust first?

There will only be one adjust, not two. If a bond adjusts for two movies at the same time, the two movies with the two oldest release dates will be removed from the TAG, the two new movies added, and one new TAG calculated. The bond will then adjust to this new TAG.

Do bonds ever delist?

If a star dies, his or her bond will freeze and delist at its current TAG. HSX will also on occasion delist bonds for actors who have not worked steadily in recent years.

Do bonds adjust for straight-to-video/television/cable movies?

No. Straight-to-video/television/cable movies also do not count towards a star’s TAG.