FIE433 provides an introduction to international finance. We study the functioning of international financial markets, focusing on various foreign exchange risk management tools. Another part of the course deals with international portfolio diversification and asset pricing. We will moreover cover investment and financing decisions of firms that operate in an international environment. Special emphasis will be placed on how corporations assess and hedge their currency exposure. The course is built around the following three areas:
1. Introduction to international finance: exchange rates, exchange rate systems, exchange rate risk, forward and futures markets, foreign exchange derivatives: foreign currency swaps.
2. International asset pricing: parity conditions (covered and uncovered interest rate parity, purchasing power parity), exchange rate determination and forecasting, speculation in the foreign exchange market (carry trade).
3. International corporate finance: international capital budgeting, measuring and hedging exchange rate risk, international debt and equity financing.