DANIEL ARTHUR LAPRES

Cabinet d'avocats

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INTERNATIONAL FINANCE

January 7, 2010
 
 

COURSE DESCRIPTION

This course is intended for senior undergraduates and masters level students in international business. Its purpose is to familiarize participants with the theories and practices of international finance as well issues of current interest.

The program consists of lectures, case studies, exercises and simulations.

Ample use is made of mathematical approaches.

Case studies will be prepared and presented orally by groups of students.

Opportunities are offered to participate in simulations of currency trading and of international portfolio management.
 
 

OUTLINE


READINGS

Basic text: Alan Shapiro, Multinational Financial Management (Wiley, 5th ed., 1999)
 
 

EXERCISES

Students will frequently be assigned exercises to prepare for the next class.  This link is to sample exercises and answers.

Exercises on currency risks
 
 

PROGRAM


PART I - THE INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL ENVIRONMENT

Meetings 1 and 2:

Definition of the subject and identification of the principal actors and of their roles
Approaches to financial globalization
Electronification of financial markets

Reading:
Shapiro, Chapters 1, 3 and 17

Web reading:
The liberalisation of financial markets
The globalisation of financial markets
Electronic finance: a new perspective and challenges
Electronic Money and the Future of Central Banks
Droit communautaire afférant aux Systèmes de Négociation Alternatifs

Assignment 1:
Trace briefly the history of any major international exchange; identify its method of trading and trading capacity and actual trading volumes; identify the number of days of delay between the recording of trades and their settlement.

Meetings 3 and 4:

Recent history of the international financial system
The fight against international money laundering and financial crimes
The role of the IMF and other international organizations of a financial nature

Web reading:
Allocating bank regulatory powers:lender of last resort, deposit insurance and supervision
Recent Bailouts and Reform of the International Monetrary Fund
Sovereign Debt Restructuring:New Articles, New Contracts - or No Change?
La crise financière en Corée
Le risque pénal dans les relations d'affaires avec la République Populaire de Chine

Assignment 2:
Assess the long term results of the IMF's intervention in the South Korean financial crisis.

Assignment 3:

Un avocat parisien reçoit un de ses meilleurs clients dans son cabinet et apprend que le client veut engager ses services pour monter une société à Hong Kong.

Le client dit à l'avocat qu'il amassé une somme d'environ 100.000 Euros en espèces provenant de ventes en liquide non déclarées à partir des diverses boutiques dans son réseau de magasins de détail.

Le client propose de porter la somme en plusieurs fois jusqu'à Hong Kong dans ses valises et de déposer l'argent dans un compte qu'il contrôlera à travers un prête-nom.

Ce prête-nom ensuite fera des avances de trésorerie à la société française.

Le client demande à l'avocat de lui dire quel est le montant maximum qu'il peut sortir du territoire sans avoir à le déclarer aux douanes. Aussi, il demande à l'avocat parisien de le mettre en relation avec un confrère de Hong Kong qui saura assurer la mise en oeuvre du projet sur place.

Si vous étiez l'avocat parisien, que feriez-vous? Pour répondre à la question recherchez les articles concernés du Code pénal ainsi que les textes internationaux applicables.
 

Meeting 5:

Bubbles
Market crashes
Regulatory failures
Operational failures

Web reading:
Tulip Bulb Mania
South Sea Bubble
Stock Market Crash of 1929
Savings and Loans Crisis 1986-89
Stock Market Crash of 1987
Long-term Capital Management
Baring's Bank
The dotcom Bust
US and global financial crisis 2007-9

Assignment 4:
Identify another financial market crash, summarize its causes, its development and its resolution.

PART TWO - THE DETERMINATION OF EXCHANGE RATES

Meetings 6, 7 and 8:

Approaches to the determination of exchange rates

Reading:
Shapiro, Chapters 2, 4, 5 and 7

Web reading:
Measuring the Costs of Exchange Rate Volatility
Why currency crises happen
Managing Exchange Rates: Achievement of Global Re-balancing or Evidence of Global Co-dependency?

Presentation of case studies
I.1 - II.1/II.2

PART THREE - THE MANAGEMENT OF EXCHANGE RATE RISK

Meetings 9 and 10:

Quantifying and managing exchange rate risk exposure

Shapiro, Chapters 8 - 11
 

Meeting 11:

Presentation of case studies
I.1/I.2/I.3/I.4 - II.1/II.2/II.3 - III.1/III.2 - IV.1/IV.2

PART FOUR - FOREIGN PORTFOLIO INVESTMENTS

Meeting 12:

Financial instruments on international capital markets
Futures
Options
Swaps

Reading:
Shapiro, Chapters 5, 6, 15 and 16

Web reading:
Le marché boursier de l'électricité aux Etats-Unis
Stratégies et valorisation des options - le cas des options sur l'électricité
La négociation de contrats à l'ère de l'euro
 

Meeting 13:

International portfolio diversification

Reading
Shapiro, Chapter 19

Web Reading
Should U.S. Investors Invest Overseas?

PART FIVE - FOREIGN DIRECT INVESTMENTS

Meeting 14:

Evaluation of foreign direct investments
Management of long-term capital within international groups
Project Finance

Reading
Shapiro, Chapters 18, 20 and 21

Web reading
Essay on the Value of Ownership
Principles of Compensation for the Nationalization of Foreign Property
The Canada Development Corporation

Case studies:
IV.1 - Plano Cruzado
IV.2 - Multinational Manufacturing Inc.

PART SIX - MANAGEMENT OF THE SHORT TERM

Meeting 15:

Short-term capital management in the international context
Financing international trade (guarantees, bills, letters of credit)
Tax planning

Reading
Shapiro, Chapters 12, 13 and 14

Web reading
UCP 500  - Chambre de Commerce Internationale (Paris)
Quelle fiscalité pour le commerce électronique?

PART SEVEN - EVALUATION

Meeting 16:

Exam

OTHER READINGS

List of books on international finance available at the ISC Library

Webliographies by Daniel Laprès

International Finance

International and comparative law

Other publications on international finance by Daniel Laprès

Droit communautaire afférant aux services financiers en ligne

Régulation américaine des marchés de capitaux face à l'internet

Other courses on international finance by Daniel Laprès

Droit de la finance internationale

Law and Econmics of International Risk Management
 

Other publications on international finance by Daniel Laprès

List of books on internaitonal finance available at the ISC Library
 
 

EVALUATION

Evaluation will be based on a written open book final exam (2 hours). The exam is oriented toward problem solving.

Bonus points may be earned for class work (exercises, research, simulations, cases studies) and for participation in discussions. Students who choose to participate in either of the simulations will be given bonus points toward their final grades.
 
 

SIMULATIONS

Participation in the simulations is optional. Students who choose to participate should identify themselves to the professor.

Currency trading simulation

The US$/€/RMB exchange rates will be fixed at the start of the simulation. Participants will be asked at the outset to record an estimate of the exchange rates on the final day of the class on May 22, 2010. A question on the final exam will relate to the evolution of these exchange rates. Students will have the option of handing in on a regular basis their trades and recording their gains and losses as well as new sources of information that they may have collected on the exchange rate trends. Evaluation of the students' participation in the project will be based more on the efforts rendered and the lessons drawn than on the hypothetical gains or losses.

Fund simulation

Students may work on a simulation of a fund's hypothetical investment in China-related business.
 
 

DANIEL ARTHUR LAPRES

Cabinet d'avocats

contacts
 

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