Long-term Financial Management

Week 1: Weighted Average Cost of Capital
Learn how companies determine their cost of financing. A company may finance with debt, equity, or preferred stock. Further, companies may use retained earnings or a new stock issue to finance purchases and or expansions.
Week 2: Capital Investment Decisions
Learn how companies decide which new projects to invest in. In some cases companies may start multiple projects at the same time. In other cases they may have to choose between projects.
Week 3: Capital Structure and Leverage
Learn how companies minimize their cost of financing. Tax rates, stock market policies, and interest rates will all effect how companies finance their projects.
Week 4: Dividends and Share Re-purchase Agreements
Learn how companies decide if they should pay out dividends or buy back stock. Some companies pay high dividends, some no dividends. Issues such as country risk, accounting scandals, and tax policy all effect these decisions.
Week 5: International Financial Management
Learn how companies decide if they should invest overseas, and how they manage international risks. Currency values change, and many countries are unstable. Is the potential profit from international investing worth the risk?
Week 6: Introduction to Options
Learn how companies’ value and use, call and put options. Further, you will learn how options are used to speculate, manage risk, and give management incentives are discussed.
Week 7: Derivatives and Hedging Risks
Learn how companies use derivatives to manage risk. Futures and forwards can be used to help companies’ control their future costs, or to speculate in commodities, stocks, or currencies.
Week 8: Final assessment