Finance 342 – Money & Capital Markets
College of Business and Economics, CSUF
Course Syllabus –Spring 2010
Professor: Michael Milligan
Contact Information
Office: SGMH 5177 Office Hours: T/R 10:30 to 11:15, R 2:15 to 3:00 or by appointment
Email:
Finance Department: SGMH 5113
(Prerequisite: Business Admin. 301 and Finance 320)
COURSE DESCRIPTION AND OBJECTIVES
The Money and Capital Markets course covers a broad range of subjects including Theories of interest rates and bond valuation; financial risk, the Federal Reserve and money markets (including the recent changes in the role of the Fed); the role and functions of financial institutors; and consumer financing and business capitalization.
It is unlikely that anyone becomes a financial expert in any one of the areas covered in this class in a single semester. The objective of this class is simply to give students a good appreciation of the basic principles of the subjects and an understanding of both the complexities of the topics and their importance to the students’ lives and careers.
Class Protocol: Lectures will address the topics in the text and relevant current events. Students will be asked to comment in class on news items related to the securities markets. Tests will cover all assigned reading material as well as class discussions.
Class Materials
· Textbook – Rose, P. S. & Marquis, M., Money and Capital Markets (10th Ed.).
§ Trading Account – www.stocktrak.com for team project
§ Homework – Discussion problems, cases and problem sets will be assigned
§ Other Publications – The Wall Street Journal and Barron’s are highly recommended, student subscriptions are available from the instructor
§ Financial calculator is mandatory (Texas Instruments BAII PLUS recommended)
Grading Policy: Your grades are weighted.
Percentage1st Exam 20%
2nd Exam 20%
Term Project 25%
Final exam 35%
Total 100%
The Final Exam will include fundamental concepts from earlier in the course.
All students must take the exams as scheduled. Make-up exams are only given if the scheduled exam is missed under non-controllable conditions, such as hospitalization, in which case the student may take a make-up exam during the instructor’s office hours.
All quizzes are pop quizzes that are given at the beginning of class. Quizzes will be based upon required reading for the particular class. THERE ARE NO MAKE-UPS FOR MISSED QUIZZES!
Each student’s final grade is based upon the instructor’s evaluation of the student’s performance and will not be subject to negotiation after it is assigned. Your final letter grade may be affected by a class curve but the following scale is an approximate guide:
98 – 100% / A+ / 78 – 79% / C+ / Below 60% / F94 – 97% / A / 74 – 77% / C
90 – 93% / A- / 70 – 73% / C-
88 – 89% / B+ / 68 – 69% / D+
84 – 87% / B / 64 – 67% / D
80 – 83% / B- / 60 – 63% / D-
Extra credit of up to 15 points may be awarded for participation in the on-campus Finance Association, Real Estate Association or SMIF. The extra credit points are added to your final exam grade. A written summary of the learning gained from the activity is required for credit, as well as proof of your attendance or purchase of the reference materials. 5 points are available per event. ALL WRITTEN SUMMARIES ARE DUE NO LATER THEN TWO WEEK AFTER THE EVENT AND MUST BE SUBMITTED IN CLASS! NO EXTRA CREDIT AFTER MAY 6TH.
Academic Dishonesty: The Department of Finance requires that students engaging in academic dishonesty receive a grade of “F” and be reported to the appropriate authority for possible additional discipline. Academic dishonesty takes place whenever a student attempts to take credit for work that is not his/her own or violates test-taking rules. Please see the Cal State Fullerton Catalog for details.
Withdrawal Policy: Students will be allowed to withdraw from this course in accordance with University policy. For details, see the CSUF Class Schedule.
Assessment Statement:
The main purpose of the degree program at the College of Business & Economics (College) at Cal State Fullerton is to provide you with the knowledge and skills that prepare you for a successful career in business. In order to assist us in achieving this goal, we will use a number of assessment tools to track your progress throughout the College curriculum. Please expect to participate in College assessment activities in several of your courses while at CSU, Fullerton. As you do so, you will assist us in identifying our program’s strengths and weaknesses as well as areas for potential improvement. In other words, you are making an important investment in the value of your degree.
Course Outline: The course outline appears on the following page. The instructor reserves the right to change this schedule and the assignments at any time during the semester. Please attend class to keep abreast of any changes. You are responsible for all information covered in class and all assigned readings. If you miss class be sure to obtain the information you missed.
It is easy to get behind in this class. You should always read the assigned chapter(s) prior to coming to class. Each student should attempt to work out the discussion problems/cases before class. This will help you to understand the concepts and example problems that are presented by the instructor. There is a high correlation between the amount of effort students put into these problems and the students’ performance on the exams.
Semester Project: See semester project outline on Blackboard.
Course Outline – Classes
Week Subjects Chapters Discussion Problems/Cases
1/28 Functions & Roles 1 1, 5 & 6
Financial Assets, Money, Financial 2 2
Transactions
Select teams for Term Project
Turn in at the end of class
Open trading account @ www.stocktrak.com
2/4 The Market for Common Stocks 20 1 & 2
Trading begins this week.
Must be fully invested by end of week
2/11 Business Borrowing: Corp Bonds 19 2 & 3
2/18 FIRST EXAM (Chapters 1, 2, 19 & 20)
Determinants of Interest Rates 5 1
2/25 Measuring and Calculating Interest 6 1, 2, 4 & 7
Rates and Financial Asset Prices
3/4 Inflation, Yield Curves, and 7 4, 5, 6 & 10
Duration
3/11 The Risk Structure of Interest 8 4 & 5
Rates
3/18 Interest Rate Forecasting & Hedging 9 N/A
3/25 SECOND EXAM (Chapters 5-9)
Intro to the Money Market 10 2 & 7
(Mid-term peer evaluations due#)
4/1 Commercial Banks, Major 11 N/A
Corporations, and Federal Credit
Agencies in Money Market
4/8 FALL RECESS
4/15 Roles and Services of the 12 N/A
Federal Reserve
4/22 The Tools & Goals of Central 13 N/A
Bank Monetary Policy
4/29 International Transactions and 23 4 & 5
Currency Values
5/6 PRESENTATION OF TERM PROJECTS
5/6 PRESENTATION OF TERM PROJECTS
5/13 PRESENTATION OF TERM PROJECTS
5/20 FINAL EXAM
FURLOUGH DAYS:
February 16, 2010
Useful Websites
Stock/Trak (portfolio simulations) www.stocktrk.com
Bloomberg (financial and market news) www.bloomberg.com
TheStreet.com (financial and market news and commentary) www.thestreet.com
IndexFunds (best in-depth source on indexing) www.indexfunds.com
American Stock Exchange (information of ETFs) www.amex.com
Securities and Exchange Commission
(Obtain company reports directly from EDGAR) www.sec.gov
ValueLine.com (company profiles and analysis) www.valueline.com
Fool.com (stock research and discussion boards) www.fool.com
Zacks.com (earnings estimates and analyst recommendations) www.zacks.com
Lehman Brothers (best source for bond indexes) www.lehman.com
Dr. Ed Yardeni’s Economics Network (Stock Market Lab)
http://205.232.165.149/stocklab.asp
StockCharts.com (Chart School is informative) www.stockcharts.com
Big Charts (interactive charting) www.bigcharts.com
Treasury Direct (information on purchasing Treasury debt) www.treasurydirect.gov
FutureSource (Commodities) www.futuresource.com
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