Revised 01/10/2016
FINC/ECON3830
FINANCIAL MARKETS & INSTITUTIONS
GEORGIA COLLEGE & STATE UNIVERSITY
Spring Semester – 2016
CRN21216/21217 (MW 11:00 - 12:15 PM), Atkinson Hall 109
NOTE: It is your responsibility to read, understand and abide by all of the course information
and policies listed below. Failure to do so could result in you failing this course or being
withdrawn from the course by your instructor or by the Department of Economics and Finance.
The course syllabus provides a general plan for the course; deviations may be necessary.
Instructor: Dr. Leng Ling
Office:
414 Atkinson Hall
Telephone: (478) 445-2587
Course website: http://lengling.gcsu.edu
Office Hour: MW 13:00 – 14:00; other time by appointment only.
PREREQUISITES:
ECON 2105, Principles of Macroeconomics and ECON 2106, Principles of Microeconomics
Or
Econ 2100, Economics and Society
All students, regardless of degree program (graduate or undergraduate) or status, (transient or postbaccalaureate) must have completed all the prerequisites with a grade of "D" or better. There are no
exceptions! Those students who have not met these requirements must withdraw from this course
immediately. The Department of Economics and Finance will disenroll you if it is discovered that you
have not successfully completed all of the prerequisites. This action will result in a loss of fees; no refund
is guaranteed. This action could also result in a final grade of "WF" for the course in some circumstances.
If the above prerequisite courses were completed as transfer courses, it is your responsibility to confirm
that transfer credit has been received and credited properly. If your transfer credit has not been received
and placed on your record, it is your responsibility to provide to the Department of Economics and
Finance documentation by no later than one week prior to the semester midpoint, confirming that the
above prerequisites have been satisfactorily completed.
Textbook
Financial Markets and Institutions (11th edition) by Jeff Madura
ISBN: 978-1133947875
All supplementary materials are posted on the course website. Supplementary materials include teaching
slides and solutions to assigned homework, etc. Students should print out slides and bringing to class
because there is NO time in class to copy my slides onto their notebooks.
Calculator
It is necessary that you have a financial calculator to use throughout the course. A scientific calculator
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doesn’t work for this course！ I use Texas Instruments BA II Plus and will demonstrate how to use it to
solve problems. If you use other calculators, you have to learn how to use it by yourself. Bring your
calculator to class each day!!!
Objectives
This course is a study of the principal institutions and markets of the financial system and their role in the
intermediation process. It provides a conceptual framework that can be used to understand why markets
exist and how it operates. The focus is on the securities that are traded in the markets and the participation
by financial institutions. Topics include: Analysis of money and capital market instruments, innovations
and regulations; interest rate determination; aspects of financial markets; management of exchange rate
exposure and hedging strategies; bond markets; equity markets; option markets.
Outcomes
The students will be able to
1. Describe the characteristics and securities of different financial markets.
2. Find the theoretical prices of a bond and a stock.
3. Analyze and solve problems related to futures and options.
4. Describe the determinants of exchange rates and compute the cross rates.
5. Analyze and adopt a strategy to hedge foreign exchange risk.
Attendance
Each student is expected to attend ALL scheduled class meetings for the entire duration of the class
meeting. It is your responsibility to sign the attendance sheet. If you do not sign up for any reason, you
will be considered absent. The attendance sheet may be circulated at any time during the class period.
Students arriving more than 15 minutes late are not permitted to sign the attendance sheet.
A student who missed 4 classes will earn a “F” for this class.
A student who missed no more than two classes will earn 2 points of extra credit to the course grade.
Grades
Your final grade for the course will be determined according to the following grade weight schedule.
Exam 1
Exam 2
Exam 3
Exam 4
Homework
Quiz
Group project
15%
20%
15%
20%
10%
15%
5%
100%
A – 90% +
B – 80% +
C – 70% +
D – 60% +
F – Below 60%
I do not grade late homework or project. You will get zero if you turn in late. Extra credit may be earned
ONLY by actively participating in discussion and in-class problem solving.
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Exam Policy
The exams will consist of questions covering concepts and numeric problems. I will provide formula
sheet for exams. Cellphone is not allowed during exams.
If you are not able to take an exam on the scheduled date but with a valid excuse, you can take the exam
earlier or on the following day if you informed me in time so that I can arrange the make-up exam. If you
missed the exam with valid excuse and informed me much later so that I do not have enough time to
arrange the make-up on the following day, the weight of that exam will be added to the final exam. If you
cannot show the proof of a valid excuse such as the note from a doctor and an accident report, then you
will earn zero for the exam. If you miss more than one exam, except for the first one with a valid excuse,
all others will be assigned zero.
Course Outline
The course syllabus and course calendar are TENTATIVE. Depending on our progress, some topics may
be covered in greater depth and for longer periods, some topics may be given less coverage and less time,
and some topics may be dropped altogether. It is your responsibility to be aware of all administrative
announcements (e.g., exam information, schedule and/or assignment changes) made any time during
scheduled class period regardless of whether or not you are in attendance.
Communication
Outside of the scheduled class times, I may need to communicate with either the entire class or individual
students via e-mail. I only send emails to your GCSU official e-mail address. Every day check your
student email account and visit the course website for the latest information and resources. DO NOT use
the messaging facility on WebCT Vista (or D2L) to contact me.
Student Opinion Surveys
Near the end of the semester, you will be asked to complete an online survey. Your responses
are valued because they give important feedback to instructors to help improve student learning.
All responses are completely confidential and your name is not stored with your responses in any
way.
Religious Observance Policy
Students are permitted to miss class in observance of religious holidays and other activities
observed by a religious group of which the student is a member without academic
penalty. Exercising of one’s rights under this policy is subject to the GC Honor Code. Students
who miss class in observance of a religious holiday or event are required to make up the
coursework missed as a result from the absence. The nature of the make-up assignments and the
deadline for completion of such assignments are at the sole discretion of the instructor. Failure
to follow the prescribed procedures voids all student rights under this policy.
Assistance for Student Needs Related to Disability
If you have a disability as described by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 504, you may be eligible to receive accommodations to assist
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in programmatic and physical accessibility. Disability Services, a unit of the GCSU Office of
Institutional Equity and Diversity, can assist you in formulating a reasonable accommodation
plan and in providing support in developing appropriate accommodations to ensure equal access
to all GCSU programs and facilities. Course requirements will not be waived, but
accommodations may assist you in meeting the requirements. For documentation requirements
and for additional information, we recommend that you contact Disability Services located in
Maxwell Student Union at 478-445-5931 or 478-445-4233.
Academic Honesty
The integrity of students and their written and oral work is a critical component of the academic
process. The submission of another’s work as one’s own is plagiarism and will be dealt with
using the procedures outlined in the Student Academic Dishonesty section in the undergraduate
catalog. Remember that allowing another student to copy one’s own work violates standards of
academic integrity. Please note the graduate link is: http://catalog.gcsu.edu/en/20142015/Graduate-Catalog/Academic-Policies/Student-Code-of-Conduct/Student-AcademicDishonesty .
Also see the student Honor Code at the following website: Link.
Fire Drills
Fire drills will be conducted annually. In the event of a fire alarm, students will exit the building
in a quick and orderly manner through the nearest hallway exit. Learn the floor plan and exits of
the building. Do not use elevators. If you encounter heavy smoke, crawl on the floor so as to gain
fresh air. Assist disabled persons and others if possible without endangering your own life.
Assemble for a head count on the front lawn of main campus or other designated assembly area.
Turnitin
This course (or section) may use plagiarism prevention technology. Students have the option of
submitting papers online through a plagiarism prevention service or allowing the instructor to
submit hard copies of these papers. The papers may be retained by the service for the sole
purpose of checking for plagiarized content in future student submissions.
Software Creation
The intellectual property of class assignments and other materials developed using university
resources that are commercialized are reviewed under the USG and GC policies to determine
ownership and/or payment rights. USG policies can be found at
http://www.usg.edu/policymanual/section6/policy/6.3_intellectual _properties/ and GC policies
can be found at http://gcsu.smartcatalogiq.com/en/Policy-Manual/Policy-Manual/AcademicAffairs/EmploymentPolicies-Procedures-Benefits/Faculty-Professional-DevelopmentOpportunities/Faculty-Research/Intellectual-Property-Policy-and-Procedures .
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Academic Grievances or Appeals
An academic grievance or appeal is an allegation by a student of substantial and/or unjustified
deviation, to the student’s detriment, from policies, procedures and/or requirements regarding
admission, grading policies, special agreements, instructor’s requirements and academic
requirements of the University. Students shall have the right to file academic grievances or
appeals according to the following procedures approved by the University. Academic Grievances
or Appeals link
Graduate Student Petition: http://www.gcsu.edu/registrar/docs/GraduatePetition.pdf
Undergraduate Student Petition:
http://www.gcsu.edu/registrar/docs/Student_Petition_Undergraduate.pdf
My Suggestions
1. Textbook chapters should be read before and after the class. If you do not read textbook, you are
very likely to fail the class.
2. There are a lot of in-class exercises that need your active participation. Please do not let go these
opportunities to practice. Otherwise, you are just wasting your time and money.
3. Work hard. Spend at least 7 hours every week (outside classroom) on this course to read the
textbook, review slides, redo in-class exercises, do homework assignment, and prepare for
potential quiz next week. If you do not do homework assignment, you are very likely to fail the
class.
4. This course can be as tough as a math course as it uses a lot of math.
5. Students are expected to be familiar with solving one-unknown variable equations. If you forgot
most of this skill, please pick it up ASAP. You can get some help from me and the learning center
in library.
6. I will be very pleased to explain again and again the same concept or problem. If you are
confused during the lecture, please do not hesitate to stop me immediately.
7. The questions in exams are similar to those in my slides and quiz, on the whiteboard, at
homework. However, I usually do not just copy my examples or homework questions and paste
to exams. That is not the way exams should be. I do not cover all topics in the textbook because
of time constraint. The topics covered in my slides will be the focus.
8. You are welcome to email me or drop by my office during the office hours to ask any question.
Please set up an appointment first if you want to come at other time.
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