The Scope: Financial assets are securities that embody claims against other financial assets or other real assets, have an issuer and an owner. Their "form", "appearance", "duration" and generally "physical" nature is not given but depends on the ingenuity of the issuers and owners. As securities or contracts, they offer great flexibility because they can be used in many different ways, but they are also associated with risks as they are exposed to non-fulfillment of the contract. Their importance has increased in recent decades at a global level with the progress of the technology. Specially with the advent of so called derivatives the business world realized that such products can by used in manifold operation : speculation, hedging and arbitrage

The Aim: The course aims to introduce students the world of the so called derivative market, the financial products which are based on others financial products, their usefulness in the business and the risk they incorporate.

On successful completion of this module students will :

• Learn the three main categories of derivatives which are used in international context and specially
• The forward and future contracts general and specific on currencies and interest rates
• The Option general and specific on currencies and interest rates
• Swaps contracts
• Learn how to use them in
• Speculative way
• Hedging and
• Arbitrage