Students

ECON3060 – International Finance

2025 – Session 2, In person-scheduled-weekday, North Ryde

General Information

Download as PDF
Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit convenor and teaching staff Unit Convenor & Lecturer
Ha Vu
ha.vu@mq.edu.au
Room 429 4 Eastern Road
To be announced and posted in ilearn.
Credit points Credit points
10
Prerequisites Prerequisites
(ECON203 or ECON2003) or (ECON204 or ECON2004) or (AFIN250 or AFIN2050)
Corequisites Corequisites
Co-badged status Co-badged status
Unit description Unit description

This unit analyses the structure, functions and operations of the international financial system and its impact on the Australian economy. Student’s study the opportunities and risks from different financial products to a well-functioning financial system, which is critical to market-based economic systems. Topics may include international capital flows and balance of payments, analysis of foreign exchange markets and behaviour, corporate management of exchange rate risk, trade finance, international taxation and capital budgeting.

Important Academic Dates

Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

  • ULO1: Analyse the structure, functions and operations of the international financial system.
  • ULO2: Research and engage in international business decisions using the appropriate analytical tools.
  • ULO3: Describe and analyse the risks that businesses and investors may face in the international markets.

General Assessment Information

Late Assessment Submission Penalty:

Unless a Special Consideration request has been submitted and approved, a 5% penalty (of the total possible mark) will be applied each day a written assessment is not submitted, up until the 7th day (including weekends). After the 7th day, a grade of ‘0’ will be awarded even if the assessment is submitted. Submission time for all written assessments is set at 11.55pm. A 1-hour grace period is provided to students who experience a technical concern.  For any late submissions of time-sensitive tasks, such as scheduled tests/exams, performance assessments/presentations, and/or scheduled practical assessments/labs, students need to submit an application for Special Consideration.

Assessment Tasks

Name Weighting Hurdle Due
Professional Practice: Financial Analysis 25% No 11:55pm Monday 8 September 2025 (Week 7)
Skills Development: Research and Communication 25% No 11:55pm Monday 13 October 2025 (Week 10)
Formal and Observed learning: Exam 50% No During the University Examination Period

Professional Practice: Financial Analysis

Assessment Type 1: Case study/analysis
Indicative Time on Task 2: 15 hours
Due: 11:55pm Monday 8 September 2025 (Week 7)
Weighting: 25%

 

The purpose of this assessment is for you to practice how to investigate issues related to international finance and to construct a persuasive argument. You will work independently to express your discipline understanding as well as to apply the knowledge in real-world scenarios.

Skills in focus:

  • Problem solving
  • Critical thinking
  • Communication skills
  • Discipline knowledge
  • Work readiness

Deliverable: Written Submission (max 1,600 words).

This is an individual assessment.

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse the structure, functions and operations of the international financial system.
  • Research and engage in international business decisions using the appropriate analytical tools.
  • Describe and analyse the risks that businesses and investors may face in the international markets.

Skills Development: Research and Communication

Assessment Type 1: Presentation
Indicative Time on Task 2: 20 hours
Due: 11:55pm Monday 13 October 2025 (Week 10)
Weighting: 25%

 

The purpose of this assessment is for you to work collaboratively and develop expertise in crafting solutions to real-world related issues.   You will work in teams to examine real-world scenarios and produce and submit a video presentation in which all group members must present a part.   Skills in focus:

  • Analytical skills
  • Critical Thinking
  • Communication skills
  • Technical Skills
  • Teamwork
  • Work readiness

Deliverable: Presentation Group assessment

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse the structure, functions and operations of the international financial system.
  • Research and engage in international business decisions using the appropriate analytical tools.
  • Describe and analyse the risks that businesses and investors may face in the international markets.

Formal and Observed learning: Exam

Assessment Type 1: Examination
Indicative Time on Task 2: 35 hours
Due: During the University Examination Period
Weighting: 50%

 

The purpose of this assessment is for you to demonstrate the expertise you have gained in this unit. You will participate in a 2-hour, on campus, closed-book exam held during the University Examination period. Important information about the exam will be made available on the unit iLearn page.   You should also review the MQ Exams website for general tips: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/assessment-exams/exams.  

 
On successful completion you will be able to:
  • Analyse the structure, functions and operations of the international financial system.
  • Research and engage in international business decisions using the appropriate analytical tools.
  • Describe and analyse the risks that businesses and investors may face in the international markets.

1 If you need help with your assignment, please contact:

  • the academic teaching staff in your unit for guidance in understanding or completing this type of assessment
  • the Writing Centre for academic skills support.

2 Indicative time-on-task is an estimate of the time required for completion of the assessment task and is subject to individual variation

Delivery and Resources

The delivery format of this Unit is as follows:

  1. Two-hour face-to-face lecture (on campus, or online concurrence for online students) on Friday 9 – 11am at 23WW P.G.Price Lecture Theatre. Embedded in each week lecture are some in-class discussions or activities to enhance students’ engagement and active learning. The weekly lectures are scheduled to be recorded live and later uploaded into ilearn. 
  2. One hour tutorial which can be in person (on campus) or online (via zoom) depending on your class registration. In each tutorial class, we will discuss theoretical and real-world-related questions which will help strengthen your discipline knowledge, enhance your critical thinking and problem-solving skills which together will increase your capability of work readiness. And of course, all these will assist you perform better in the assessment tasks, especially the final exam. 

All materials for the unit, such as the lecture recordings, lecture notes, readings, and discussion questions will be available to students on the unit iLearn site at http://ilearn.mq.edu.au. Students are strongly encouraged to check the unit iLearn page weekly for announcements as well as the unit schedule, additional readings, assessment information, and discussion questions.

Recommended texts and other resources

Jeff Madura, Ariful Hoque, and Chandrasekhar Krishnamurti, International Financial Management, Cengage Learning, either Asia-Pacific edition (2018), or US edition (2021). (Older editions are fine too).

You can read the online text from the University library and here is the link:

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/MQU/detail.action?docID=6519331#

Geert Bekaert and Robert Hodrick, 2014 (2nd edition), International Financial Management, Pearson International. ISBN-13: 978-013-284-298-3

Alan C. Shapiro, Multinational Financial Management (11th Australia and New Zealand Edition), Wiley. ISBN: 9781119715979

https://www.wileydirect.com.au/blog/buy/multinational-financial-management-australia-and-new-zealand-edition/

Useful resources for this course:

Banking Weekly Podcasts - Financial Times: podcast.ft.com/banking-weekly

www.bloomberg.com

www.theeconomist.com (free access via the University library)

www.bis.org

www.wsj.com

IMF Podcasts

Technology Used and Required

ilearn; Programs for Video recordings

Unit Schedule

Week

Lecture

1

Topic 1: MNCs and international flows of funds

2

Topic 2: Foreign exchange markets

3

Topic 3: Exchange rate determination

4

Topic 4: International arbitrage and interest rate parity

5

Topic 5: Inflation, interest rate, and exchange rate

6

Topic 6: Currency derivative markets

7

Topic 7: Measurement and management of exchange rate risk

8

Topic 7 (cont)

9

Topic 8: Multinational Capital Budgeting

10

Topic 9: Capital structure & Int. Stock markets

11

Topic 10: Int. Debt markets & Debt Financing

12

Topic 11: International banking and Trade financing

13

Topic 12: Financial Statecraft: Chokepoints, Crime and Economic Warfare

Policies and Procedures

Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:

Students seeking more policy resources can visit Student Policies (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/policies). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.

To find other policies relating to Teaching and Learning, visit Policy Central (https://policies.mq.edu.au) and use the search tool.

Student Code of Conduct

Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/admin/other-resources/student-conduct

Results

Results published on platform other than eStudent, (eg. iLearn, Coursera etc.) or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit connect.mq.edu.au or if you are a Global MBA student contact globalmba.support@mq.edu.au

Academic Integrity

At Macquarie, we believe academic integrity – honesty, respect, trust, responsibility, fairness and courage – is at the core of learning, teaching and research. We recognise that meeting the expectations required to complete your assessments can be challenging. So, we offer you a range of resources and services to help you reach your potential, including free online writing and maths support, academic skills development and wellbeing consultations.

Student Support

Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/

Academic Success

Academic Success provides resources to develop your English language proficiency, academic writing, and communication skills.

The Library provides online and face to face support to help you find and use relevant information resources. 

Student Services and Support

Macquarie University offers a range of Student Support Services including:

Student Enquiries

Got a question? Ask us via the Service Connect Portal, or contact Service Connect.

IT Help

For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/. 

When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.

Unit information based on version 2025.06 of the Handbook