It also describes the role of key international institutions such as the IMF. Overall, it moves from the single-country focus of other finance modules and gives students an international perspective on finance. Such a perspective is vital for students planning to work at international institutions or firms.
Topics covered
- The Balance of Payments
- PPP and the Real Exchange Rate
- The Monetary Model & Overshooting
- The Forex (FX) Market
- FX Microstructure & Derivatives
- Efficiency of the FX market
- FX Intervention and Reserves
- FX Policy Regimes
- Financial Globalisation and FX Crises
- Sovereign Debt and Default
Learning outcomes
If you complete the module successfully, you should be able to:
- understand and describe how international capital flows are measured and determined.
- explain foreign exchange trading in spot, forward, swaps and derivative markets.
- articulate and evaluate issues arising from the use of different foreign exchange policies.
- demonstrate knowledge of foreign exchange trading conventions and their interpretations.
- reason critically with respect to alternative foreign exchange trading strategies and choose the best strategy according a set of information available.
- change a strategy once the set of information changes.
- create the most suited set of information for the decision-making process.
- utilise real-time data to estimate and monitor foreign exchange markets and capital flows.
- utilise professional financial tools and case studies to support decisions.
- work both independently and in teams to create and manage foreign exchange strategies.
- present highly technical financial material to non-practitioners simply and clearly.
- demonstrate skills to present highly technical financial material to non-practitioners simply and clearly.
- demonstrate ability to synthesise and use information and materials from a variety of different sources to support an argument.
- demonstrate use of research skills into international financial market problems and issues.
Assessment
This module is assessed by:
Coursework (50% weighting):
- There is one item of coursework for this module which contributes to the final assessment mark for this module.
- Coursework: a written essay of a maximum of 2,000 or 2,500 words (deadline – weeks 9-12) The coursework is designed to check student progress, extend and reinforce concepts covered and also test individual performance.
Examination (50% weighting):
- The final piece of assessment will be an unseen written examination of 2 hours’ duration.
Essential reading
The following is provided as part of the course materials after you register:
- Scott A, Miles D and Breedon F, Macroeconomics, Wiley, 2012
