you buy the bond (long) - you are investor in the bond, hence expect to receive coupons
you sell the bond (short) - you are the issuer of the bond - so you pay coupons.
I understand that when: receiving fixed coupons, you want rates to go down (bond price goes up), so you are long. (Like with other assets, you are long if you want prices to go up) But what i don’t get is when: paying floating coupons, you want rates to go down (bond prices go up), so i thought you are also long, not short. (As mentioned, if you want prices to go up, you are long the asset)?
Gonowpass, don’t get bogged down on the lingo: long, buy, invest. Try to create a practical scenario in your head for the concept.
If you receive a fixed payment from someone that is exactly like you bought a bond with fixed coupons. Isn’t it? If you buy a bond that has fixed coupons you will receive a fixed cashflow. Thats it. Isnt that the same as receiving a fixed cashflow on a swap? So just think about it: Receive Fixed Swap = BUY Bond and receive its fixed coupons.
The exact opposite is true if you are paying a fixed cashflow to someone. If your company issues a fixed rate bond (or put another way, if your company sells a fixed rate bond), you have to pay investors the fixed cashflow on the bond. That is the same as Paying Fixed on a swap. So Pay Fixed Swap = Sell Bond and pay its fixed coupons.
Remember, look at vanilla swaps from the perspective of the FIXED payer or receiver and decide what the equivalent bond position is.
Yeah i’m getting too bogged down in this, but i feel like i understand the concept generally. Thanks everyone for the input! Happy studying.