04521 - Business Finance

Academic Year 2017/2018

Learning outcomes

The aim of the course is to provide a basic education in corporate finance. At the end of the course the student will be able to evalute both the profitability of an investment project and the profitability of a business and to take appropriate decisions on how to finance it. The capital markets and behavioural finance will be highlighted with a focus on the balance between financial resourses and investments.

All students from foreign universities are kindly requested to introduce themselves to the teacher before taking the exam or attending the classes.

 

Course contents

CORPORATE FINANCE

1 Goals and Governance of the Firm

2 How to Calculate Present Values

3 Valuing Bonds

4 The Value of Common Stocks

5 Net Present Value and Other Investment Criteria

6 Making Investment Decisions with the Net Present Value Rule

7 Introduction to Risk and Return

8 Portfolio Theory and the Capital Asset Pricing Model

9 Risk and the Cost of Capital

10 Project Analysis

11 Investment, Strategy, and Economic Rents

12 Agency Problems, Compensation, and Performance Measurement

13 Efficient Markets and Behavioral Finance

14 An Overview of Corporate Financing

15 How Corporations Issue Securities

16 Payout Policy

17 Does Debt Policy Matter?

18 How Much Should a Corporation Borrow?

19 Financing and Valuation

20 Understanding Options

21 Valuing Options

23 Credit Risk and the Value of Corporate Debt

24 The Many Different Kinds of Debt

QUANTITATIVE FINANCE

A. how to develop a trading system

B. how to assess a trading system

C. how to trade and maintain a trading system

Readings/Bibliography

The official textbook is the ubiquitous Principles of Corporate Finance by R. Brealey, S. Myers, F. Allen, published by McGraw Hill.

The Italian version is R. Brealey, S. Myers, F. Allen S. Sandri, Principi di Finanza Aziendale , McGraw Hill Libri Italia, SETTIMA EDIZIONE, 2014, chapters from 1 to 10, from 12 to 13, from 15 to 18, from 20 to 21

The part on quantitative finance is Thomas Stridsman, Trading Systems: quelli giusti, Experta, 2007 or the English version "Trading systems that work", New York Institute of Finance.

 

Teaching methods

Around 22 lectures in class (2 to 3 hours each)

Assessment methods

A written test with 26 quizzes and other open questions and excercises or at least 17 weekly assessments during the course so that attendance is compulsory (no need for final exam)

 

Teaching tools

Students with a special interest in the topic will be allowed to attend privately organized courses in finance at no cost.

There are 2 ways to pass the exam: the first (called "esercitazioni") ia a series of at least 17 tests that the student must pass during the normal classes. Each test is made up of 10 questions or 5 questions and an excercise. Each student can ask information about the previous course only by and not beyond the next one. 

The second way to pass the exam is in the "traditional" mode with a 30 questions quiz 6 times per year during the exam period.

Links to further information

http://www.emiliotomasini.it

Office hours

See the website of Emilio Tomasini