Final answer:
The coupon rate of the bonds from Williams Software with a 10.6 percent coupon and semiannual payments is the annual coupon payment as a percentage of the bond's face value, which is 10.6 percent or $106 per year for a $1,000 bond.
Step-by-step explanation:
The coupon rate of the Williams Software bonds that have a 10.6 percent coupon and make semiannual payments is simply the annual coupon payment expressed as a percentage of the face value of the bond. Since the bonds are selling for 108.1 percent of par, we can infer that interest rates have likely fallen since the bonds were issued, making their higher coupon rate more valuable. However, to address the direct question about the coupon rate of the bonds, the rate does not change with the price of the bond in the market. The 10.6 percent is the stated annual coupon rate, meaning the bonds pay $106 annually per $1,000 of face value, or $53 semiannually since payments are made twice a year.