F-Financial Markets (english)

 

Course Name: Financial Markets (Finansielle markeder) Planned to be offered: Spring Chronology: M.Sc. course ECTS: 5 ECTS (4 ECTS for students on the 04/05 curricullum) Teacher: Peter Norman Sørensen, Department of Economics. Phone 3532 3056, email peter.sorensen@econ.ku.dk Time and Place: Wednesday and Friday 12-14 in CSS 18.01.11 week 5-8 and 10-12. Once you have an approved registration for the course in the student selfservice at KUnet you will automatically get access to the course website in Absalon. Academic Aims: A strong analytical framework now provides a good understanding of Financial Market issues. Nevertheless, research in this area still leaves many questions open for further investigations. This course partly gives participants a review the facts on financial markets, partly presents the key theoretical models, and partly addresses how the models are applied to the important issues. The final exam tests the students' specific and general knowledge of the aforementioned aspects of Financial Market theory, emphasizing three abilities: 1. The ability to readily explain and discuss key theoretical concepts and results from academic articles, as well as their interpretation, 2. The ability to carefully derive and analyze results within an advanced, mathematically specified theoretical model, 3. The ability to apply the most relevant theoretical apparatus to analyze a given, new case-based problem. In order to achieve the maximal grade for the course, the student must excel in all three areas. Course Content: This course examines the financial markets from a Micro perspective. When traders operate in the financial market, how do they arrive at the transactions prices? How is the traders’ dispersed information incorporated into these prices? What determines the liquidity and depth of an asset market? What is the optimal behaviour for traders in financial markets? Why do bubbles and crashes arise? Do the institutional details of the exchange influence this price formation process? If so, how should exchanges and regulators ideally design the rules of trading? Is there a role for market making, should the market be fully transparent, should insider trading be permitted, and are electronic exchanges good or bad for the market? In recent years, financial economists have turned to seriously address these and related questions about the financial markets’ microstructure. Nevertheless, research in this area still leaves many questions open for further investigations. Syllabus:  Frank de Jong and Barbara Rindi: "The Microstructure of Financial Markets," Cambridge University Press, 2009. Language:  English Prerequisites: The course builds mainly on basic Finance, such as may be acquired in the third year course on Corporate Finance and Incentives. We also employ the modeling skills from the bachelor’s courses in Micro. Teaching and Work Forms: Mostly lectures covering the articles with a view towards accomplishing the course goals. Supplemented by problem sets. All in English. Formal Requirements: none Examination: 48 hours take-home