Commercial Paper, otherwise known as CP, is an obligation issued by a corporation or a bank to finance its short term credit needs. It can be either unsecured or asset-backed. Maturities can range from 2 to 270 days. It is available in many denominations, can be either discounted or interest bearing, and usually has a small or nonexistent secondary market. It is issued by companies with high credit ratings and therefore considered to be a relatively low risk investment.
Companies like GM or PepsiCo are multi billion dollar companies. …