Bond duration, in the broadest sense, is the amount of time that must pass before a bond issue reaches maturity.

Within this process, close attention is paid to the actual worth of the bond as it moves toward maturity.

Calculating the value duration of a bond is relatively simple when the rate of interest applied is fixed, although determining the current value of a variable rate bond at a specific point in the maturation process is not particularly difficult.

10y 5% coupon bond

Yield-to-maturity

A measurement of one investment or financial instrument's value relative to another's.

For example, an investor may want to compare the financial ratios of two different stocks to determine which stock will be purchased.

The investor is determining the value of one stock relative to another.

An exchange of two assets. For example, one type of asset swap is the exchange of a fixed asset, such as a Treasury Bond with fixed and guaranteed payments, for a floating asset such as an index fund, which does not have a fixed or guaranteed return. Asset swaps are done most often in order to achieve a more favorable payment stream, and typically involve debt obligations.

An exchange of interest payments on a specific principal amount.

This is a counterparty agreement, and so can be standardized to the requirements of the parties involved.

An interest rate swap usually involves just two parties, but occasionally involves more.

IRS is interest rate exchange of benefits between 2 counter parties with comparative advantage.