GBUS 751 - Global Financial Markets

This course emphasizes the development of technical skills that enable students to improve their understanding of global financial markets. The course focuses on the key drivers of movements in currency and interest-rate markets around the world, as well as the important institutions and players that impact those markets. Students will examine how interest rates are impacted by such factors as central-bank behavior, fiscal policy, the state of the business cycle, productivity, inflation expectations, and international capital flows. For currencies, students will develop two related tool kits: one that is useful for understanding the drivers of orderly changes in exchange rates, and a second, through the construction of an early-warning system, that focuses on factors associated with large and potentially disorderly depreciations. Students will also investigate ways in which firms and investors manage interest-rate and currency exposure, as well as how countries manage exchange rates. The course, which includes both technical readings and cases, should appeal to a broad array of students, especially those who wish to pursue careers in investment banking, international finance, and general management.

Credits: 1.5