Texts:
Required
S. Ross, R. Westerfield, and B. Jordan (RWJ), 1999, Fundamentals of Corporate Finance, Irwin McGraw-Hill.
S. Benninga and O. Sarig (BS), 1997, Corporate Finance: A Valuation Approach, Irwin McGraw-Hill.

Recommended
S. Benninga (B), 1998, Financial Modeling, MIT Press.

Class Packets and Case Studies: Available at the NYU Main Bookstore located at 18 Washington Place.
n Lecture Handouts Packet
n C. Liu (L), 1999, How to Use Excel for Financial Modeling Packet
n Harvard Business School (HBS) Case Studies: Tire City (#297091)

Grading Policy: Late homework and late projects are not accepted
 

Homework (Due on Thursdays unless stated otherwise)	20%
HBS Tire City	30%
Midterm Exam:	25%
Final Exam:	25%

Case projects are due in class on the assigned date at the beginning of class. Students are not allowed to email their homework or cases to me (I've had several emailed projects in the past that have contained malicious viruses that eluded both my McAfee and Norton Anti-Virus software). The Case Projects are an individual effort.  Rationale: Employers frequently ask students to submit an example(s) of a project done solely by them which demonstrates their analytical ability, their proficiency at financial modeling, and their  effectiveness at written communication. My intent is to provide students with a portfolio of their own work which they can use in the job interview process e.g. submit it to potential employers along with their resumes and cover letters.

Grade Distribution: Grading is based on the class curve rather than the total number of points and adheres to the grading curve set by the Finance department. The professor has no control over this curve. This grade distribution is only an approximation
 

A (A, A-)	20%
B (B+, B, B-)	45%
C (C+, C, C-)	30%
D and F	5%

Computers and Calculators: The tools of the trade.  Although not required, it is STRONGLY recommended that students own a computer (laptop or desktop).  At the peak times, the Stern computer labs are overcrowed. Students may experience a lost of their work in these labs due to computer viruses or hard drive failures.  Students should also own a business/financial calculator.  Please make sure that the calculator has net present value (NPV) and internal rate of return (IRR) functions.

What is Expected of Students:

Œ Students are expected to ask another student for lecture notes or make other arrangements if he or she is unable to attend class e.g., religious holidays.  If an assignment is due on a religious holiday (I try to avoid giving deadlines on these holidays), students can turn in the assignment before but not after the due date.

� No makeup exams are given without a signed medical excuse from a doctor.  I do call the doctor to verify your medical condition. The professor reserves the right to have a single makeup exam.

Ž Students are required to possess a calculator with financial functions.

WARNING: This is a labor intensive class. The philosophy that we use is to talk about it, read about it, and then JUST DO IT! No incompletes will be given.

Problem Set 2: Estimating the cost of debt