The University of New South Wales

go to UNSW home page

Handbook Home

PRINT THIS PAGE
Continuous-Time Finance - FINS5591
 The Quad

   
   
 
Course Outline: FINS5591 Course Outline
 
 
Campus: Kensington Campus
 
 
Career: Postgraduate
 
 
Units of Credit: 6
 
 
EFTSL: 0.12500 (more info)
 
 
Indicative Contact Hours per Week: 3
 
 
Equivalent: FINS4781
 
 
CSS Contribution Charge:Band 3 (more info)
 
   
 
Further Information: See Class Timetable
 
  

Description

The course consists of two major parts. The first one is a more technical prerequisite of the second, but it delivers its own insights into the modelling of financial problems. It deals with Stochastic Calculus as a basis to model the stochastic development of asset prices, interest rates or latent variables. At the end of this part students should be familiar with Ito's Lemma and stochastic differential equations. This part asks for a positive attitude of students towards a more formal reasoning. It will take up about 20% of the lectures.

The second part deals with a number of classical continuous-time applications in Finance. First, three problems which areas based local on a no-arbitrage condition will be discussed: option pricing, structural models of credit risk, and the trade - off theory of the optimal capital structure. Second, portfolio theory and the characterization of expected asset returns in equilibrium will be analysed. These two problems were the first applications of the continuous-time finance approach. The last topics are devoted to no­ arbitrage term structure theories and to the general equilibrium theory as developed by Cox/1 ngersoii/Ross.

URL for this page:

© The University of New South Wales (CRICOS Provider No.: 00098G), 2004-2011. The information contained in this Handbook is indicative only. While every effort is made to keep this information up-to-date, the University reserves the right to discontinue or vary arrangements, programs and courses at any time without notice and at its discretion. While the University will try to avoid or minimise any inconvenience, changes may also be made to programs, courses and staff after enrolment. The University may also set limits on the number of students in a course.