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2015/2016  BA-BHAAI1038U  Fundamentals of Finance - Global Issues

English Title
Fundamentals of Finance - Global Issues

Course information
Language English
Course ECTS 7.5 ECTS
Type Elective
Level Bachelor
Duration Summer
Start time of the course Summer
Timetable Course schedule will be posted at calendar.cbs.dk
Study board
Study Board for BSc in Economics and Business Administration
Course coordinator
  • Course instructor - Dr Shelton Weeks, Florida Gulf Coast University
    Patricia Plackett - MPP
Main academic disciplines
  • Finance
  • Management
  • Economics
Last updated on 10/08/2017
Learning objectives
To achieve the grade 12, students should meet the following learning objectives with no or only minor mistakes or errors:
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the principles of finance covered in the course.
  • Demonstrate an awareness of contemporary policy and institutional issues in banking and finance as well as have a good knowledge of the functions and functioning of the various financial markets.
  • Understand how financial markets work and know the historical rate of returns and risks on various types of investments.
  • Demonstrate an understanding of the important types of bonds and understand the determinants of bond yields.
  • Appreciate the impact of diversification and have a basic understanding of the systematic risk principle.
Course prerequisites
No prerequisites.

Useful background: Economics (Macroeconomics)
Prerequisites for registering for the exam
Number of mandatory activities: 1
Compulsory assignments (assessed approved/not approved)
Mandatory Mid-term Assignment:Assignment involving student group presentations on their analysis of an article from The Economist in Class 6.
Examination
Fundamentals of finance – global issues:
Exam ECTS 7.5
Examination form Written sit-in exam
Individual or group exam Individual
Assignment type Written assignment
Duration 4 hours
Grading scale 7-step scale
Examiner(s) One internal examiner
Exam period Summer
Aids allowed to bring to the exam Limited aids, see the list below:
  • Written sit-in-exam on CBS' computers
  • Allowed dictionaries
Make-up exam/re-exam
Same examination form as the ordinary exam
If the number of registered candidates for the make-up examination/re-take examination warrants that it may most appropriately be held as an oral examination, the programme office will inform the students that the make-up examination/re-take examination will be held as an oral examination instead.
Course content and structure

This course has been specifically designed for Danish and international students who want a foundational understanding of key topics in finance without taking the undergraduate level course in corporate finance. The course studies the economic functions and efficiency of financial institutions and markets. We will use analytical tools to study the development and structure of asset markets, the insurance industry, regulation of markets, financial derivatives and the European Monetary Union, as well as current topics in emerging market finance.

 

We will focus mainly on current events in international financial systems, as well as the impact of recent financial crises and their impact on policy and instruments. This course will examine a number of topics that are central to understanding financial markets. The topics covered will include the role of financial markets and intermediaries in the UK and Europe, credit channels, banks and other depository institutions. We will also examine the role of financial regulators and the banking sector’s relationship to globalization, finance and service sectors.

 

The Preliminary Assignment will involve viewing a series of videos and preparing a brief reflective essay on at least two of the video themes to be uploaded to LEARN for discussion in Class 1. The Mid-term Assignment will involve students working in groups on a comprehensive analysis of an article from The Economist in Class 6 that will be followed by in-class discussion of the findings.

 

Class

Topic

Class 1

Introduction to what constitutes financial markets and how they work: bonds, stock markets and the role of interest rates; Preliminary Assignment due

Class 2

Introduction to what constitutes financial markets and how they work: bonds, stock markets and the role of interest rates

Class 3

Emerging markets and their Central Banks

Class 4

International Capital Flows

Class 5

Theories involving efficient markets hypothesis and asset pricing

Other theories about how markets work

Class 6

Understanding stock markets and trading; Mid-term Assignment

Class 7

The need for market regulation.

Role and types of regulators

Class 8

Private regulators

Role of the international community

Class 9

Exchange rates and risk

The evolution of derivative markets

Class 10

Understanding the global financial crisis

Lessons from the global financial crisis

Class 11

Comprehensive Review
Teaching methods
A typical session would be composed of a problem based discussion of a Wall Street Journal/Financial Times news story, followed by a mini-lecture on the class topic. Some sessions – such as the one on the financial crisis of 2008 - would involve discussions on real-world problems.
Further Information

Preliminary Assignment: To help students get maximum value from ISUP courses, instructors provide a reading or a small number of readings or video clips to be read or viewed before the start of classes with a related task scheduled for class 1 in order to 'jump-start' the learning process.

 

The timetable is available on http://www.cbs.dk/uddannelse/summer-university-programme/courses.
Expected literature

Books:

Frederic Mishkin (2009) Economics of Money, Banking and Financial Market, Global Edition (9th Edition). Pearson.

 

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-59979-7 (main edition· alk paper)

ISBN-10 : 0 -321-59979-9 (main edition. alk. paper)

ISBN-13: 978-0-321-59988-9 (business edition. alk. paper)

ISBN-10 : 0-321-59988-8 (business edition : alk. paper)

 

Central Banking and Monetary Policy in Emerging Nations, by David De Rosa, (Research Foundation of CFA Institute, 2009). Available at: www.cfapubs.org/doi/pdf/10.2470/rf.v2009.n2
Last updated on 10/08/2017