Dakota State University
BUS 418 Financial Futures & Options
Spring 2001
Announcements
May 10, 2001 3:47 pm
On May 14th, 2001 the second round of the Multex Investor Challenge begins. It will be fun. It will be challenging. It will provide you with the skills and confidence to make you a better online investor.
Manage a $100,000 virtual portfolio with the chance to win $25,000 plus other great prizes! You can double your fun by challenging a group of your friends to participate and compete against one another and other investors in your own private challenge.
The first Round of the Challenge was a HUGE success, dont miss out on the second round! Go to http://www2.investmentchallenge.com/multex and register today for the Multex Investor Challenge.
- Registration runs from April 20, 2001 - June 15, 2001
- Trading runs from May 14, 2001 - July 6, 2001
May 7, 2001 9:08
If you are taking Unit Four of the final exam, be aware that there
will be no calculations as on Part I of Exam Four.
If you are taking Unit One of the final exam, the question
in Part I of that exam could show up on the final but question 1
of Part II then would not. Or vice versa.
May 3, 2001 2:45 pm
I have graded the fourth exam. You can pick them up in my office.
May 1, 2001 11:00 pm
The fourth exam is on Thursday, May 3, 2001.
The final exam is on Tuesday, May 8, 2001 8:00 - 10:00 am.
You must fill out a final exam options form sometime before the
final exam. You can do this anytime before the final or right
when you arrive for the final exam.
April 27, 2001 12:03 am
The following points are awarded in Financial Futures and Options
for performance in the Spring 2001 Futures Market Contest:
Molly Johnson 25
Kent Terveer 10
Adam Popp 5
April 26, 2001 1:23 pm
An example of current research on the Black-Scholes option pricing model.
April 26, 2001 1:14 pm
The handouts requested in class this morning are available in my office.
April 25, 2001 4:07 pm
I put an old Fourth Exam on the course Web site. The answer key
will be in the library shortly.
April 25, 2001 3:35 pm
Guess what. I graded the presentations. You can pick them up in my office.
A few of you didn't turn in the assignment again. I need to have a corrected
Computer Assignment #3, along with the graded earlier version, before I can
give you a grade.
April 24, 2001 10:42 pm
The fourth exam will be on Thursday, May 3, 2001.
April 21, 2001 10:42 pm
Say it ain't so: Bill Gates no longer richest man in world
April 21, 2001 12:29 am
I graded the third exam. You can pick them up in my office.
April 16, 2001 11:42 pm
Study guide/objectives for Unit Four are on the Web.
April 16, 2001 10:57 pm
Class notes for Chapters 13 and 14 are on the Web.
April 16, 2001 3:59 pm
Study guide/objectives for Chapter 12 are on the Web.
April 16, 2001 3:23 pm
Unit Four will cover chapters 12, 13, and 14.
April 12, 2001 2:34 pm
I posted an old third exam to the Web. Note though that the third
unit in 1999 was different from the third unit this year because of
a new edition of the textbook and rearranged units. I'll put an answer
key in the library later this afternoon.
April 11, 2001 1:41 pm
Pork bellies locked down the limit again today.
April 11, 2001 12:43 am
Blue hardcopies of Unit Three study guide/objectives are available in my office.
April 11, 2001 12:08 am
Class notes for Chapter 12 of Unit Four are on the Web.
April 10, 2001 2:14 pm
The course textbook is a new edition, with rearranged and added chapters,
etc. After taking a closer look at what I had lumped into the fourth unit,
I've decided to do some rearranging myself. So, Unit Three will cover
Chapters 10 and 11 only. I will move Chapter 12 to Unit Four and eliminate
some of the chapters I had tentatively put in that unit. The study guide/
objectives for Unit Three is finished. Note that I just made some modifications
to the objectives that were out there before, changing a few slightly and also
adding a few more at the end.
The third exam will still be on Thursday, April 19, 2001.
April 10, 2001 9:44 am
The third exam will be on Thursday, April 19, 2001.
April 9, 2001 11:21 pm
Study guide/objectives for Chapter 11 are on the Web.
April 9, 2001 11:06 pm
Class notes for Chapter 11 are on the Web.
April 6, 2001 3:47 pm
Here's an example of "locking." Pork bellies locked down the limit today.
DTE = days til expiration
Delayed data retrieved at 04/06/2001 15:45:22 CST
Frozen Pork Belly
Symbol Month Date Time* Open High Low Last Change Volume OpenInt DTE
PBN01 Jul '01 04/06/01 13:21:00 93.80 93.80 91.30 91.30s -3.00 151 794 111
April 4, 2001 12:38 am
Uh-oh. The Student Worksheet I posted to the Web before had an incorrect
formula in it. I corrected the worksheet and posted the latest version
to the Web. Make sure you have the corrected version. Put in perfect
scores for everything and check to see that you get 1000 points for the
total.
April 3, 2001 11:46 pm
I have added the Student's Grade Analysis Worksheet to the Web. Use this to estimate where you stand in the class and how you might do eventually.
April 2, 2001 12:15 pm
Bulls, Bears, and Pigs: Here's a quote from today's Wall Street Journal that
illustrates the differences. A man watched his stock portfolio skyrocket during
the NASDAQ boom, then watched it dwindle, hoping it would come back. He
said, "I'm one of the stupid people who didn't sell. Unfortunately,
I was a pig." So, don't be greedy.
March 31, 2001 4:10 pm
Study guide/objectives for Chapter 10 of Unit 3 are on the Web.
March 31, 2001 3:04 pm
Information on the Futures Contract Study Project final report is on the Web. The final report is due the day of the final exam.
March 30, 2001 6:05 pm
The second exam has been graded. If you can't wait until Monday to find
out your grade, I can e-mail your grade to you.
March 29, 2001 12:19 pm
Intraday futures quotes are apparently no longer available through
Jack Carl. A good source of daily intraday futures quotes is
Futuresource.com.
March 28, 2001 1:03 pm
Remember that your initial orders for the Futures Market Contest are
due by the end of trading Thursday. Some contracts close as early as
12:20 pm. There is a 3-point penalty for each day late.
March 26, 2001 4:55 pm
Computer Assignment #3 has been graded. You can pick it up in my
office. When you correct them for the presentations next Tuesday make sure
you pay close attention to the instructions given in class. You will
hand in the corrected assignment as part of the presentation. It is very
important that the charts be correct because comparison of the charts
among all the contracts will be an important aspect of the presentations.
For the presentation have the printshop make transparencies (50 cents each)
of the moving average chart and the account equity chart. You will show the
charts to the class, comment on what has been happening to the
underlying asset during the course of the study, and any insights you
have about a) the effectiveness of the moving averages for generating
buy/sell signals and b) anything you noticed about the behavior of
the futures contract. Your report should be no longer than three minutes.
The presentation and the corrected assignment will be worth a total
of 30 points.
March 26, 2001 10:18 am
I put an old Second Exam on the Web. The answer key will be in the library
soon.
March 26, 2001 10:56 pm
Presentations on the futures contracts will be Tuesday, April 3, 2001.
March 26, 2001 9:10 pm
The rest of the class notes for Chapter 10 are on the Web.
March 26, 2001 7:33 pm
I have run off a handout on technical analysis chart patterns,
transparencies 56 and 57 of the Trading class notes. You can
pick it up in my office or I will bring the handout to class.
March 26, 2001 3:29 pm
Some of the class notes for Chapter 10 of Unit Three are on the Web.
March 25, 2001 11:23 pm
The Spring Futures Market Contest will begin on Thursday, March 29,
2001. Your first order can be turned in anytime before that or during
the trading day on Thursday. But note that many contracts stop trading
quite early in the day, much earlier than stocks stop trading.
See http://www.courses.dsu.edu/finance/fmc/spring01/s01reprt.htm for details. I will also bring hardcopies of the rules to class. They should be available in my office Monday afternoon.
March 20, 2001 2:44 pm
Study guide/objectives for all of Unit Two are on the Web. Note that some *'s have been added to some objectives which had posted to the Web earlier.
March 20, 2001 10:33 pm
The second exam will be on Thursday, March 29, 2001.
March 19, 2001 7:37 pm
I realized that grading Computer Assignment #3 will require me to have your
moving averages chart to look at. Please turn that in with your assignment. If
you have already turned in the assignment, turn in the moving averages
chart Tuesday.
Since we are already very close to the end of the data series for the
contract study, we will have a single class presentation of your work
instead of two. The single presentation will be worth 30 points.
For the presentation you will go to the printshop and have a transparency
made of the moving averages chart and of the account equity chart.
March 15, 2001 10:06 am
The London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange, LIFFE,
is now offering futures contracts on individual stocks. See:
http://www.liffe.com/products/equities/stock_futures/index.htm#
US stocks traded include: AT&T, Cisco, Citigroup, Exxon Mobil,
Intel, Merck, and Microsoft.
Trading of futures on individual stocks will begin in the US in
December (August for institutions). See BusinessWeek, February 26, 2001.
March 15, 2001 12:31 am
The rest of the class notes for Unit Two are on the Web.
March 14, 2001 4:16 pm
For Computer Assignment #3 realize that each contract is different. Do
no simply use the numbers for Eurodollars (as in the example) for your
contract. Decimal places and tick size and tick value are different for
different contracts.
March 13, 2001 8:25 pm
The hardcopies of Computer Assignment #3 are available in my office.
March 13, 2001 2:36 pm
Computer Assignment #3 Account Equity and Charting is on the Web. Hardcopies which include a sample chart will be available after a printshop run.
March 13, 2001 10:28 am
I've gotten more information from Wells Fargo Financial Bank about
what the tour next Wednesday would be like. Arrive about 1:30 pm,
start off with presentation and snacks in a conference room, then
have an extended tour of the facilities and departments, then back
to the conference room for questions and answers. Leave about 4 pm.
Sounds entertaining and informative. I still have room in the van for
more people. WFFB wants a final count next Monday.
March 10, 2001 2:58 pm
The Nasdaq composite index is celebrating the one-year anniversary of
its record high Saturday. But nobody is throwing a party.
See: http://cnnfn.cnn.com/2001/03/09/markets/nasdaq_record/ for a news story.
March 10, 2001 12:49 am
Another reminder about the trip to Wells Fargo Financial Bank
on Wednesday, March 21. We would leave DSU at 12:30 pm. The bank
wants a preliminary count on Tuesday, March 13. Please let me know
as soon as possible if you plan to join us.
March 2, 2001 10:41 pm
The study guide for the Trading section of Unit Two is on the Web.
February 28, 2001 5:14 pm
The rest of the class notes for the Trading section of Unit Two are on the Web.
February 28, 2001 4:06 pm
I want to remind you of the trip to Wells Fargo Financial Bank
in Sioux Falls. The arrangement is to meet the WFFB staff at the bank
at 1:30 pm on Wednesday, March 21, 2001. We would take a van from DSU.
The bank is very eager to have students visit. They think DSU is fertile
recruiting ground. I believe the tour will be quite enjoyable. It would be
especially of interest to finance majors but any business student would
benefit.
Please let me know if you are interested in going. I can give you a
little more information if you have questions; I've been down to the
bank myself.
February 26, 2001 4:51 pm
More class notes for the Trading section of Unit Two are on the Web.
February 20, 2001 5:16 pm
Be sure to review the options for substituting or dropping exam grades
on the Grading Policy. If you are satisfied with your grade on an exam,
you may want to substitute the grade onto the final exam for the
corresponding unit. If you are not satisfied, you may wish to use that
unit on the final exam to replace the exam grade you just earned.
February 19, 2001 11:30 pm
Some of the class notes for the Trading section of Unit Two are on the Web.
February 18, 2001 9:21 pm
This coming Thursday, February 22, 2001 I will be at an economics
conference in Pittsburgh. There will be no class this coming Thursday.
February 16, 2001 4:19 pm
The first exam has been graded. You can pick up yours in my office.
I'll also bring them to class on Tuesday.
February 13, 2001 1:07 pm
I put a previous Unit One exam on the course Web site. The answer
key is on reserve in the library.
Note that the first exam is in two parts but that neither part is
open book (in contrast to the first exam in BUS 411).
February 11, 2001 1:50 pm
I have graded the second computer assignment. They can be picked
up in my office. I will also bring them to class on Tuesday.
On the chart you should use the solid line for the settlement prices.
The solid line will automatically be the visual reference.
I will give you your next computer assignment next week. This week
you should be studying for the exam on Thursday.
February 6, 2001 5:23 pm
The first exam will be Thursday, Feb. 15, 2001.
February 5, 2001 10:23 pm
We may have a short visit from a representative of Wells Fargo
Financial Bank in Sioux Falls about 8:30 am tomorrow, Tuesday.
February 4, 2001 9:11 pm
Blue hardcopies of the Study Guide for Unit One can be picked up in
my office. I will also bring them to class on Tuesday. But the
recommended procedure is to download the file from the Web and
modify it to fit your specific needs.
February 2, 2001 12:57 pm
Study guide for the entire Unit One is on the Web.
The first exam will be either Tuesday, Feb. 13 or
Thursday, Feb. 15. BUS 418 and BUS 411 will not have an
exam on the same day that week.
January 31, 2001 10:43 pm
Computer Assignment #2 Technical Analysis: Moving Averages is on the Web. I will also bring it to class on Thursday. The handout will include a sample chart. We will discuss in class the buy/sell signals generated by the moving averages.
January 31, 2001 3:45 pm
Class notes for Chapter Four are on the Web.
January 29, 2001 11:14 pm
The next assignment information will be given out by class on Thursday.
It will involve calculating two moving averages of the settlement prices
and generating buy and sell signals (technical analysis) for hypothetical
trading. Make sure your data is up to date. (The third assignment will be
to carry out hypothetical trades and keep track of profits and losses.)
January 26, 2001 9:26 pm
Some of you still have not picked up your assignments for revision
and resubmission. It's important that the assignments be consistent.
They will be used in class presentations and will be compared to each
other.
A few of the submitted revisions still need further revising.
January 25, 2001 9:20 am
Be sure to pick up your graded computer assignment immediately if you
were not in class. Corrections and modifications are due at 5:00 pm
Friday, though an extension to Monday would be available. These
corrections need to be done quickly so that we can start on the
next assignment. The next assignment builds off the first one.
January 24, 2001 11:58 pm
The rest of the class notes for Chapter Three are on the Web.
January 24, 2001 2:46 pm
Computer Assignment #1 has been graded and can be picked up in my
office. I will also bring them to class on Thursday.
It is important that this assignment be done correctly. It will be
used for the next two assignments and for class presentations. I
indicated what corrections and/or modifications you need to make to
the assignment. Make the corrections and modifications and resubmit the
assignment, along with the initial graded version, by Friday,
January 26, 2001 at 5 pm.
January 22, 2001 11:41 pm
A few notes for Chapter Three are on the Web.
January 19, 2001 10:46 am
Don't forget to get your initial stock picks in by 8:00 am
Monday. You start losing points if you are late.
January 18, 2001 1:34 pm
The rest of the class notes for Chapter Two are on the Web.
January 17, 2001 5:03 pm
Computer Assignment #1 Charting Futures Prices is on the Web. I will also bring hardcopies to class tomorrow which will have the sample charts on them.
It is important that everyone have the same format for the charts; we
will be comparing everybody's charts to each other.
January 17, 2001 3:07 pm
A copy of the solutions manual is now on reserve in the library.
January 15, 2001 11:27 pm
Study guide for Chapter One of Unit One is on the Web.
January 15, 2001 10:42 pm
Class notes for Chapter One and part of Chapter Two are on the Web.
January 11, 2001 1:41 pm
This list shows which contracts have been claimed by students. I will
update this list as others choose. Each student must study a different
contract.
Allowable Contracts to Study
Precious Metals
Gold (Callies} Silver (Mohnen) Platinum (Johnson) Palladium (Kostboth)
Interest Rate
Treasury Bonds (Hieb) Eurodollars (Zolnowsky) Treasury Notes (Amert) 5-yr Treasury Notes (Reiner) 2-yr Treasury Notes (Jellema)
Currencies
Yen (Olson) British Pound (Hossain)
Deutschemark (Seitz) Mexican Peso (Terveer)
Canadian dollar (Klinkhammer) Swiss franc (Olawsky)
Australian dollar (Javers) Euro FX (Nour)
Index
DJIA Nikkei 225 (Volin) S&P 500 (Brink) NASDAQ 100 (Popp) S&P Midcap 400 (Fields) CAC-40 Stock FT-SE 100 DAX-30 German Stock U.S. Dollar (Houska) NYSE Composite (Eggert)
January 9, 2001 12:38 pm
Each student will select a futures contract to study during the semester.
You will report regularly to the class on price action of the contract,
news about the underlying asset/index, and paper trading gains/losses.
During the first week of the class you will choose a contract to study.
Your choice must be approved by me. Each student will study a different
contract.
January 9, 2001 12:36 am
Be sure to check these announcements daily. News can be found on this page sooner than my announcing it in class. Or I might even forget to mention something in class.
College of Business & Information Systems
Dakota State University
Madison, SD 57042
Page Manager: Jim Janke
Contact at: jim.janke@dsu.edu
URL of this page: http://www.courses.dsu.edu/finance/bus418/b418annc.htm
Latest announcements are at the top of the page.