This is an overview course on the link between the economy and the global financial markets, particularly how government monetary and fiscal policies and the state of the economy impact stocks, bonds, currencies, and alternative assets.  As major policy decisions or economic, political, social, financial, and corporate news are announced, retail investors, traders, portfolio managers, and hedge funds, for example, change their trading and investment strategies.  Their trading decisions affect securities prices in real-time. Overall, students will learn how the financial markets respond to current events and headlines about, for example, healthcare, inflation, jobs, taxes, interest rates, industrial performance, politics, war, terrorism, and natural disasters.  This course is a gateway to understanding the link between the economy and the capital markets.

Co-Taught by Laura Jackson Young, Ph.D.