Description of Course: The primary objective is to study the principles
of rational decision-making within corporations. By far the most important
of the decisions made by the corporate executives concerns the acquisition
and allocation of capital. The course covers both the ways corporations
respond to conditions in the financial markets and the ways financial
markets react to corporate decisions. The topics covered are:
Criteria for Investment Decisions
Measures of Risk and Return
Portfolio Theory
Capital Asset Pricing Model
Random Walk Models and the Efficient Market Hypothesis
Dividend Policy and Stock Price
Capital Structure
International Financial Decisions
Valuation of Stock Options
Option Theory and Decision Making.
This course is a mixed media online, inclass course. There are lectures that are available on line.
The instructions for accessing the lectures and the quizzes
are at:
Grading: Grades will be based upon twelve quizzes, two midterm examinations, a final
examination, and miscellaneous homework assignments. The examinations
are multiple choice.
The final examination will be comprehensive and roughly twice as long
as a midterm examination.
The total weight of the twelve quizzes is
equal to one midterm examination.
The total weight of the homework is somewhat less than one midterm examination.
The approximate weighting
will be 20 percent for each midterm
examination, 20 percent for all the quizzes, 25 percent for the final examination and
15 percent for the homework.
Homework is due at the next class meeting of each week.
