|
Course Description
This course will cover issues related to both international financial markets
and the financial operations of a firm within the international environment.
The first part of the course will examine issues related to the international
markets, including international commercial policy, international investment,
foreign exchange markets, the euromarkets, and currency derivative markets. The
second part of the course will consider financial issues associated with the
operation of a firm in the international environment. Specifically, this part
of the course will focus on the identification, measurement, and management of
the impact of exchange rates on the firm; issues related to the taxation of
international income; the implications of political risk on project evaluation
and financial structure, firms' cost of capital for international projects;
financing decisions in a global market; and methods for evaluating the
performance of foreign operations. While the course discusses theoretical basis
on the various issues, it relies on both empirical evidence and discussion of
firms' real world activities. The course style is mostly lectures with some
class discussions. It evaluates students through several quantitative problem
sets, case studies, and a midterm and end of course exam.
Course Grading
To receive credit for the course, each student will be responsible for writing a
midterm exam and a short second exam. The midterm exam will be
SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10, 2007 from 1:00pm-4:00pm.
The second exam will be SATURDAY DECEMBER 15,
2007 10:30 am – 12:00pm. Students will also be responsible for
handing in several problem sets and case write-ups as part of a study group.
The final grade will be determined by the following weights:
| First Exam |
35% |
| Second Exam |
25% |
| Cases/Problem Sets |
30% |
| Group/Class Participation |
10% |
The participation grade
is based mostly upon evaluation by your group members at the end of the
course, but it may be augmented by ambitious general class participation. To promote classroom participation, discussion is evaluated
only on involvement and quality rather than on the particular position taken.
Please note that 40% of the grade is determined by group activities so
keep this in mind when forming study groups.
Course Materials
A bulk pack will be provided for the
non-textbook readings of the course. Other handouts, such as problem sets,
cases, case setups, and class notes will be provided as necessary throughout the
course. Students will also receive a copy of the course slides at the beginning
of each session. Much of this material can also be downloaded from the course
website.
The textbook provided for this course is:
International Financial Management, 4nd Edition, by Eun and
Resnick, Irwin, 2007.
Chapters from this book are listed in the
syllabus as IFM and provide useful background and additional discussion of the
topics discussed in class. Due to time considerations, we will not cover all of
the topics in the text, although it is highly recommended that you read the
entire text. In addition it will be assumed that students are thoroughly
familiar with an introductory corporate finance textbook.
In addition to the text and the required
readings, avid students of international finance will wish to stay on top of
current issues by following additional sources on information. Recommended
sources include:
The Economist - good economic analysis
of occasional related issues.
Financial Times - good international company
and capital markets section.
Euromoney - great international finance
and banking coverage - a big read.
Student subscription rates
are available for some of these publications. Click
here
for more information.
Finally,
I often refer students to web sites for additional reading material as well as
current events news, and additional information on a topic, or information that
would be helpful for a problem set or case. Thus it will be assumed that people have both access and the knowledge
necessary to navigate around the worldwide.
Groups
Each member of the class is encouraged become part of a study group consisting
of three to five students. This group will work together and prepare
answers to the discussion cases/problem sets (however, any student may elect to
submit a minority opinion on an issue, if desired). Once a group is formed
it cannot be changed, so please choose your groups carefully. Issues
regarding free riding, shirking, etc. in groups work often more severe in the
last year of a program, so be sure that you and your group internalizes such
issues when forming. At the end of the course, group members will be asked to
confidentially evaluate the participation of the other group members as an
attempt to externally control such behavior. This evaluation will impact on the
student’s class participation score.
Groups are
asked to choose a unique group name and include it in the in the name of any
homework file (i.e., HW1_FNCE731_groupname.xxx) that is submitted via email
Exam Policy
The
exams are closed book, although I will provide an equation sheet as the
memorization of economic and financial formulas is not the goal of this course. Students need only bring a calculator and writing utensils to
exams. Absences from exams must be arranged in advance and make-up exams must
be taken in advance of the actual exam unless there is a confirmed medical
excuse.
Cases/Problem Sets
Cases and problem sets are to be submitted via
email by the time at date indicated on the class outline. Groups are asked to
choose a unique group name and include it in the in the name of any homework
file (i.e., HW1_FNCE731_groupname.xxx) that is submitted via email.
The problem sets are meant as exercises to
practice some of the material. Answers will be provided for the problem
sets. Some of the cases will be the topic of discussion for a part of the
class period, while others are meant purely as homework. Students should
bring to class a copy of the case material for class discussion when
indicated.
As with the real world, all of the cases are
written to focus on issues, not answers, and as such are somewhat ambiguous.
There are no "right answers" to the cases, only good arguments and bad
arguments for taking particular actions or decisions, especially on the
corporate cases. Unlike other finance courses, there is sometimes a limited
amount of quantitative information on which to make a decision and thus it is
often impossible to compute an exact answer as might be done in other courses.
Contact
Professor
I
will attempt to make myself available during the Friday/Saturday periods in
which you are on campus in order to answer questions. I am usually available
after class periods or during the lunch breaks. On double class weekends I
will be available on Friday evenings for additional questions.
In addition, I am an avid user of e-mail.
My email address is bodnar@jhu.edu. If you wish to speak to me directly, my office number
is (202) 663 - 7731.
Page created with Frontpage.
Last updated Aug 22, 2007
|
