Goals
This course is divided into two interrelated parts: markets and institutions.

The first part looks at the global financial markets. These include the market for foreign exchange, the Eurocurrency and related money markets, the international capital markets, notably the Eurobond and global equity markets, and the markets for forward contracts, swaps and other derivatives. The book seeks to explain how these markets work both in the context of basic principles of finance and by means of examples and applications.

The focus of the second part of this course is primarily on determinants of competitive performance in the global financial services industry. It covers the entire range of commercial and investment banking activities carried out internationally. This includes Eurobond and foreign bond new issues, competition in interest rate and currency swaps and synthetic securities, international equity finance, foreign direct investment and acquisitions transactions from the perspective of the seller of advisory services and financing. The discussion of competing in various international commercial and investment activities is interlinked to a geographic dimension, which includes discussion of conditions in the financial services sector in North America, Europe, Asia, and emerging markets.

Instructor
Prof. Ian Giddy is a graduate of the University of Michigan (MBA 1972, PhD 1974) and the University of the Witwatersrand (BSc 1970). He has taught finance at NYU, Columbia, Wharton, Chicago and abroad for the past twenty-five years. He was Director of International Fixed Income Research at Drexel Burnham Lambert from 1986 to 1989. He is the author or co-author of numerous articles and books, including The Handbook of International Finance, The International Money Market, Cases in International Finance, Global Financial Markets, Asset Securitization in Asia and The Hudson River Watertrail Guide.

Pedagogy
The course employs cases and problems as well as classroom lectures and discussions, and "live case studies" to offer a hands-on learning experience. We will make use of international as well as domestic examples. Each student will be expected to prepare thoroughly and to participate actively in class discussion. There will be a number of cases and assignments, a term-long group project and two exams.

The Course on the Internet
We will make use of the Internet--notably the World Wide Web--for resource material and communication. Indeed this course outline itself will evolve: the definitive version is the Web site at http://www.stern.nyu.edu/~igiddy/gbcm.htm. All students must have an email address and Web access with java-enabled browser. Your default address will be the one assigned by Stern. To redirect mail, go to http://simon.stern.nyu.edu/ and follow the instructions to forward your Stern email to your work or home email address.

Textbooks
Ian H. Giddy, Global Financial Markets, (Houghton Mifflin, 1994)
Roy C. Smith and Ingo Walter, Global Banking (New York: Oxford University Press, 1997).

Cases & Readings in Global Banking. Students should have read the assignments before coming to class. Material covered in the assigned textbook readings will generally not be repeated in class. Rather, class time will be devoted to lecture and case discussion, applying the material covered in the readings.

The Live Case Study
Each student will work in a group to investigate the international competitive aspects of an actual financial institution during the course. See the live case study website.

Grading
The course grade will be determined as follows: Midterm 30%, Final Examination 40%, Live Case Study 20%, Other 10%.

Additional Resources
The Wall Street Journal and the London Financial Times provide the most comprehensive daily coverage of financial and economic news. The most insightful economic commentary may be found in the weekly, The Economist.

Try the following Web sites:

• CNN Finance
• The Financial Times
• The Economist
• and much more at Giddy's Finance Resources on the Web

More about
• The Stern School of Business
• The Instructor
• Global Financial Markets
• Prof Giddy's International Financial Management course
• Prof Giddy's Foundations of Finance course
• Prof Giddy's Debt Instruments and Markets course
• Prof Giddy's short courses and seminars
• What life will be like if you don't study