Market Events, Regulation, and Valuation

This culminating unit synthesizes real-world market events, regulatory frameworks, and valuation tools to prepare students for professional investment banking decision-making. Through case studies and hands-on use of analytics platforms, students will connect theory from prior units to practical analysis of risk, capital-raising, and corporate finance outcomes.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze major market events and failures (e.g., Flash Crash, Long-Term Capital Management, London Whale, Barings) to identify root causes, market dynamics, and systemic risk indicators
• Apply valuation and analytical tools (MarketSmith, Trefis, Morningstar) and credit ratings (Moody’s) to assess securities, IPO allocations, and portfolio implications using quantitative metrics
• Demonstrate understanding of capital-structure decisions and consequences by comparing debt versus equity choices, modeling bankruptcy scenarios (e.g., Jefferson County) and evaluating historical M&A failures
• Evaluate the role of regulators and economic data sources (SEC, Federal Reserve, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Department of Commerce) to formulate compliance-aware, macro-informed investment banking recommendations