When a company or government based outside the U.S. issues a bond for sale in the U.S., denominated in U.S. dollars, and designed for individual investors, it's called a Yankee bond.
Yankee bonds are free from currency risk, since both principal and interest are denominated in U.S. dollars. The rates that Yankee bonds pay are determined by movements in U.S. interest rates, not the rates in the issuer's country. You will likely gain an added country risk premium in the interest rate. These bonds are not free from default risk, however, since the issuer's ability to pay is affected by events in its home country.
Unlike eurobonds, which pay interest just once a year, Yankee bonds pay interest semi-annually though they provide the same call protection as eurobonds.
One advantage Yankee bonds have over bonds issued in non-U.S. currency is that they're registered with the SEC,
which means they must file the required reports in keeping with the SEC standards for accounting and auditing. And if you're looking for information, Moody's and Standard & Poor's generally give credit ratings to Yankee bonds.
Jeffrey Rosensweig, Goizueta Business School, Emory University
Jeffrey Rosensweig, Goizueta Business School, Emory University 
