SOUTHERN CONNECTICUT STATE UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS AND FINANCE
SPRING 2003
WEATHER CHECK NUMBER: (203) 392-7769
COURSE NO.: FIN 347-01/347-02L
COURSE TITLE: INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT
COURSE DESCRIPTION: A study of the financial issues facing a firm operating in a multinational environment. Topics include: balance of payments concepts, exchange rate theories, currency markets, corporate treasury management, capital budgeting, international cost of capital, risk management, derivatives, security markets and their valuation.
PRE-REQUISITES: FIN 300
PROFESSOR: Dr. Robert M. Eldridge
Tel: 392-5628 (O);
876-5046 (H)
email: ELDRIDGER1@SOUTHERNCT.EDU
OFFICE HOURS: Tues: 1700-1900;
Wed: 1600-1800;
Thurs: 1300-1500
Or by appointment
CLASS HOURS: Tues, Thurs 1515-1630 EN A115
MATERIALS: 1. Required:
A) Multinational Financial Management, 7th edition.
Alan C. Shapiro, John Wiley and Sons, 2003
B) Subscription to the Financial Times of London.
COURSE OBJECTIVES: There are two objectives of this course:
(1) Establish a foundation in the concept for-profit financial operations in the international area as outlined in the course description. At the end of the course, the student should have an appreciation of the basic issues facing the financial manager operating in the international environment;

(2) Provide the student an opportunity to practice good writing skills as learned in basic composition courses.
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION: The method of instruction will be primarily lectures and problems from the textbook and the world-wide-web.
METHOD OF GRADING: 1. 5 papers, minimum 5 pages each @ 6% 30%
2. Mid-term/Final Exam 2@ 30% 60%
3. "Two minute drills" 5%
4. Ethics questions 3%
5. Participation and attendance 2%
Total 100%
SPECIAL NOTES:

1. This course will be offered as both a "L and non-"L" course, although the assignments will be identical. The one difference will be that non-"L" registrants will not be required to rewrite their papers to meet writing standards.

2. "Two minute drills". Generally, at the end of each class, there will be a one-question quiz lasting two minutes. I will count only the top ten grades. This will constitute 5% of the final grade.

3. At the end of the course, the student will be requested to complete a "Course Survey" form, separate and distinct from any University Evaluation form. This survey helps me in preparing the course for the next time I offer it. For each form returned, 1/n points will be added to the final grade, where "n" represents the number of students enrolled in the course based on the registrar's final class list.

4. The student is permitted and encouraged to tape record lectures for personal study use only.

5. If any student has a particular disability-related need in order to participate in this course, such as special seating, note-taking assistance, use of tape recorders or modified exam conditions, you will need to visit the Disability Resource Office, EN15, to arrange for approved accommodations. If you have other information you wish to share with me, such as emergency medical information, or arrangements in case the building has to be evacuated, please tell me as soon as possible.

6. Some thoughts on writing: I do not expect Nobel-prize quality literature (or even Pulitzer prize quality for that matter). I do expect the following:

A. Each sentence must have a subject and verb.

B. Subject and verb must agree in number.

C. All words should be properly spelled. There is no excuse for misspelling. I will accept either British or American spelling.

D. Indefinite pronouns must agree in number with the proper nouns to which they apply.

E. Company names are often Compound Singular Nouns (example: Lever Bros)and therefore take singular pronouns (it).

F. Thou shalt not:

1. Leave a dangling participle.
2. Leave a dangling preposition.
3. Split an infinitive

G. Unless requested to do so, do not write from the perspective of the first person singular.

H. Basic punctuation is expected, especially the use of apostrophes for the possessive.

I. Use of the verb "to go" as a surrogate for the verb "to say" will cause me to instantaneously dematerialize and most likely haunt your speech/writing patterns for the rest of your life. In a similar fashion, the word "like" is not salt or sugar, to be casually sprinkled into your speech/ writing habits. It, too, will cause me untold grief and torment and both errors will most likely guide my marking pen when making out grades.

J. If you use a direct quotation, be sure to put it in quotes and properly reference it. If not so done, you will have committed plagiarism - the worst academic sin and suffer accordingly.

7. Writing assignments. The five cases assigned constitute the writing assignments for the course. Two grades will be assigned for the cases: one for finance and one for writing. For those students taking this as a "L" course, I will get the first submission back to you two classes after submission. Any grade for writing below B will necessitate a rewrite. Failure to rewrite will result in a failing grade for the writing portion of the assignment. Any rewrites required must be resubmitted by the second following class. Papers will be rewritten only once. After the first rewrite, the grade for the writing and finance stands. For those taking this as a non-"L" course, I will give you a chance to redo the finance portion once; however, this will not be required. The final grade for each assignment will be based on 50% finance and 50% writing for "L" course students and 75% finance and 25% writing for non-"L" students. In writing your assignments, bear this in mind: If the reader does not understand what you have written, you might as well not have written it. Of particular concern are ambiguities that could be interpreted in more than one way. Make sure that your writing is clear and specific.

8. I have developed a phobia: cell phones/pagers that go off in class. To maintain good diplomatic relations with me, please turn off all communications devices in the classroom. NO EXCEPTIONS UNLESS PREVIOUSLY APPROVED BY ME.

EXPECTATIONS:

A. What you may expect from me:

1. A strong grounding in basic international finance.

2. A willingness to work with you on specific problems
you have with the course or its scheduling.

3. A sense of excitement about the field of international finance.

B. What I expect to get from you:

1. Come to class prepared by having read the assignment and at least tried any homework problems.

2. If you know you will miss a class, a call to me would be appreciated.

3. If something does not make sense you will ask me either in class, in office hours or call me at home.

4. A sense of what is going on in the world of international business and finance through a daily reading of the Financial Times.

 

ASSIGNMENT SCHEDULE
(subject to change)
Date
Chapter
Topic
Remarks
Jan 21 1 Introduction  
Jan 23 1, 3 Int'l Monetary System  
Jan 25   Library Tutorial & Datastream 10:00  
Jan 28 3
Int'l Monetary System
 
Jan 30 5 Balance of Payments Paper #1 Due
Feb 04 2 Exchange Rates  
Feb 06   Catch-up  
Feb 11 7 Forex Market  
Feb 13 4 Forecasting / Parity  
Feb 18 19 Int'l Treasury Mgmt Paper #2 Due
Feb 20 17
Int'l Capital Budgeting
 
Feb 25 14 Cost of Capital  
Feb 27   Catch-up  
Mar 04 16 Foreign Direct Investment  
Mar 06 10 Accounting Exposure I  
Mar 11 10 Accounting Exposure II Paper#3 Due
Mar 13   Mid-term Exam  
Mar 18 11 Economic Exposure I  
Mar 20 11 Economic Exposure II  
APR 01   Catch-up
Paper #4 Due
APR 03 6 Political Risk  
APR 08 18
Financing Foreign Trade
 
APR 10 12 Intl Financing & Natl Capital Mkts  
APR 15 13 Euromarkets  
APR 17 20 Managing Multinational Financing
System
 
APR 22   Catch-up  
APR 24 15 International Portfolio Investment  
APR 29 8 Currency Futures & Option Markets Paper #5 Due
May 01 9 Swaps and Derivatives  
May 06   Catch-up  
May 08   Review  
May 15   Final Exam 1245-1445  

 

REQUIREMENTS FOR PAPERS
Paper #1:

Select a foreign currency (except the Euro)
1. Discuss the nature of the exchange rate regime of the currency.
2. Discuss it's Balance of Payments situation over the last five years.
3. Discuss what you believe are the major factors driving it's exchange rate against the US dollar. Consider political and economic factors.

   
Paper #2:

Track one of the European"legacy currencies" for the five year period ending 30 June 2001.

1. Plot out the exchange rate:

a. Vs the US dollar

b. Vs sterling

2. Plot the interest rates for your country, the UK and the US. Plot the differential in interest rates. (I will show you how).

3. Discuss whether or not interest rate changes seem to influence the exchange rate before and after the currency became a "legacy".

   
Paper #3:

Case study 1.1 (page 230 in text) or 1.2 (page 233).
Half of the class will do case 1.1 and the other half of the class will do 1.2.

   
Paper #4:

This paper will be based on material found on the web.
Each student will be assigned one of the following issues:

a) Using the following web sites (and others you may find) prepare a report on the following question: Is capital generated in the industrialized countries finding its way to underdeveloped and "emerging" markets".
World Bank: www.worldbank.org
OECD: www.oecd.org
European Bank for Reconstruction: www.ebrd.com

b) The Overseas Private Investment Corp provides long-term political risk insurance and limited-recourse project financing aid to US-based firms investing abroad. Using the following web site (and any others you find), address the following issues:


i) Exactly what types of risk will OPIC insure
against?

ii) What financial limits are there on this
insurance protection?

iii) How should a project be structured to aid its approval by OPIC for coverage?

iv) How is OPIC funded?

v) Who "owns" OPIC?
www.opic.gov

c) Using the web sites listed below, prepare a report on project financing services available from the listed organizations:


i) Milbank: Project Finance:
www.milbank.com/03_practice12.html

ii) General Electric Capital Services:
www.ge.com

iii) World Bank: www.worldbank.org

d) China is potentially the world's largest consumer, as well a potential place of foreign direct investment. Prepare a report that develops a data base on sources of information on such issues as: import/export restrictions; labor relations; supplier financing; tax rules; depreciation schedules; currency properties and restrictions and sources of short- and long-term debt. Use the following web sites as a starter:
Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation, PRC:
www.chinamarket.com.cn
China Investment Trust & Investment Corporation:
www.citic.com
ChinaNet Investment Pages:
www.business-china.com/invest

   
Paper #5 Using the below listed web sites, select a country and do an analysis of it's sovereign risk characteristics (such as local currency risk, default risk, transfer risk, currency risk). Your analysis should use both the Standard & Poor's rating service as well as Moody's as well as the ratings contained in the annual survey reported in Institutional Investor.
Standard & Poor's www.standardpoor.com/ratings
Moody's www.moodys.com

Some other neat international finance sites:
A. Time series of exchange rates:pacific.commerce.ubc.ca

B. The Bank of England: www.bankofengland.co.uk

C. The Financial Times of London: www.ft.com

D. New York Federal Reserve Bank 12 noon exchange rates: www.ny.frb.org/pihome/statistics/forex12.shtml

E. St Louis Federal Reserve Bank exchange rates: www.research.stlouisfed.org/fred/data/exchange.html

F. International Monetary Fund: www.imf.org

G. Bank for International Settlements, Basle: www.bis.org

H. European Central Bank: www.ecb.int