The objectives of this course are to give the participants a good understanding of stocks, stock markets and stock analysis. Firstly, we shall discuss the role of stocks in corporate finance and explain how stocks are traded in the primary and secondary international markets. We shall also discuss the impacts on the stocks markets of the single European currency. We shall then give a detailed explanation of a number of methods for valuing stocks. These methods include fundamental analysis, cash flow analysis and technical analysis. Further, we explain how stocks can be valued on a risk-adjusted basis (using the CAPM model), and how stocks and stock portfolios should be selected within a risk-return framework. Finally, we give an introduction to the "Shareholder value" approach to valu-ing stocks, based upon an analysis of the company's "Free Cash-flows".
