- Docente: Antonio Vanuzzo
- Credits: 3
- SSD: SECS-P/11
- Language: English
- Teaching Mode: Traditional lectures
- Campus: Bologna
- Corso: Second cycle degree programme (LM) in Quantitative Finance (cod. 8854)
Learning outcomes
The seminar in Financial journalism aims to provide the students with a set of practical skills to understand, debunk and play with the news. Regulatory releases such as companies mandatory quarterly reports and macroeconomic data as well as quality journalism flag up potential warning signs a risk manager should be able to pinpoint before the competitors do. Thus, cross checking techniques financial journalists apply in their everyday workflow constitute a complimentary ability in order to develop a critical reading of the news, and the data behind. Training risk managers able to level information unbalances is key to make the markets more efficient
Course contents
The first lessons offers an overview of the international media landscape with a focus on financial outlets. It also focuses on what is "news" and the difference between news and opinions. The second lesson focuses on reading through the lines of mandatory communications of companies trading in regulated markets to find the key elements that might impact on share and bonds prices. The third lesson examines the mandatory communications of the international bodies and central banks and how those set investor expectations. The fourth and fifth lessons focus on two practical case histories.
Professionals working in the City of London are often invited to join the lessons as guests and the students are strongly encouraged to ask questions.
The financial journalism course is an interactive one. Students will be frequently asked to comment the contents proposed during the lessons and be asked to exercise their critical mindset.
Readings/Bibliography
The suggested bibliography, which includes a mix of books on journalism and financial journalism, is not mandatory for the exam, but it's recommended to achieve a general knowledge of financial journalism. Some of the suggested books chronicle the most notable events of the last decade, from the subprime crisis and how a bunch of hedge funds made money out of it, to the Libor rigging scandal. The list below is not exhaustive and might change over time.
• The greatest trade ever, Zuckerman Gregory
• The Penguin guide to finance, Dixon Hugo
• The Predators’ Ball, Bruck Connie
• The Universal Journalist, Randall David
Teaching methods
Attendance to the course is not mandatory but it's strongly recommended.
Assessment methods
Written exam split into three parts. The first part encompasses five multiple choice questions, the second part five open questions and the third part a short article of maximum 20 lines. Each part is worth 10 points. Correct answers are worth 2 points, blank or wrong answers are worth 0.
Teaching tools
Power point slides and Skype/Whatsapp calls with professionals working in the financial industry in London
Office hours
See the website of Antonio Vanuzzo