Gary Smith Econ 168: Financial Decision MakingThe class will manage hypothetical financial intermediaries, making weekly decisions based on specified economic conditions and on the teams interpretation of the consequences of previous decisions. These conditions and consequences are determined by a computer simulation model; the detailed rules are described in a separate handout. The class will meet once a week, on Mondays, to distribute and discuss the results of the previous weeks decisions. The weekly decisions, accompanied by a typed, confidential memorandum (no more than 5 pages, please) explaining the rationale for these decisions and answering any additional questions posed by me, are due in the economics department office each Friday by 4:00 p.m. I will make detailed comments on the memos and grade them on both style and content. Each Monday, roughly half the teams will present the teams answers (10 minutes maximum) to some of the questions posed by me for that weeks memo. These presentations can utilize handouts, an overhead projector, and other visual aids. I will take attendance and we will all give constructive written suggestions to those who make oral presentations. Students who miss more than one Monday class will have their numerical score for the course reduced by 1% for each additional Monday class they miss. During the last three weeks of the semester, each team will have an additional opportunity to practice speaking skills by giving a class presentation, as if it were reporting to Congress, a board of directors, or the general public. On May 3, each student will hand in a typed diary, 10-20 pages long, recounting the hopes andfears behind the semesters weekly decisions. Every week, you should jot down some candid thoughts that will later remind you why your team did what it did. At the end of the semester, you can turn these notes into a well-written paper. The courses objectives are to
This course must be taken for a letter grade. There will be no examinations. Each person will be graded on the teams performance and on the reasonableness of its decisions: 30% financial intermediarys net worth at end of term Slacker scores will be adjusted accordingly. Students with imperfect memories may find the following references useful:
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