International Banking and Finance
Aparna@14
IBFAssignment.pdf
Deakin's Bachelor of Commerce and MBA are internationally EPAS accredited. Deakin Business School is accredited by AACSB.
MPE707 – International Banking and Finance Trimester 1, 2018
ASSIGNMENT
DUE DATE AND TIME: Week 9, 10/5/2018, 11:59PM PERCENTAGE OF FINAL GRADE: 40%
Learning Outcome Details
Unit Learning Outcome (ULO) Graduate Learning Outcome (GLO)
ULO 1: Students will be able to explain the key features of the global financial market
Students will be able to explain the key features of the global financial market
ULO 2: Students will be able to analyse the behaviour of the foreign exchange market movements
Students will be able to evaluate the information and uncertainty in the foreign exchange market
ULO 3: Students will be able to use the functions available on the trading platform to perform the currency transactions
Students will be able to use the functions available on the trading platform to perform the currency transactions
ULO 4: Students will be able to understand and manage risk in the foreign exchange market
Students will be able to analyse the foreign exchange market behaviour and manage risk
ULO 5: Students will be able to address complex issues in the foreign exchange market
Students will be able to develop skills to work independently and take responsibilities in the foreign exchange market
Assessment Feedback:
Students who submit their work by the due date will receive their marks and feedback on CloudDeakin on 1/6/2018, 0:01AM.
Page 2 of 6
Description / Requirements
In this assignment, students are required to:
(A) Speculate with virtual money on a real internet trading website. (B) Write a report (maximum of 2,000 words) on their trading experience.
(A) Internet trading game (15 points)
The Unit Team will provide each student with a free demo account with easyMarkets, an online foreign exchange trading firm. The url for easyMarkets is https://www.easymarkets.com/au/. You will have access to many of the features on the website that actual traders receive, including real- time quotes, news and a variety of charts (though some features that are licensed from third parties are not available on demo accounts).
Each student will be given an account on this website with AUD 50,000 virtual money. The goal of the exercise is simple: to make as much money as possible. easyMarkets provides access to foreign exchange spot markets and forward markets in order for you to perform your speculative activities. The website has a ‘Learn Centre’ tab, which contains information on the basics of forex trading. Please take the time to understand how the trading platform works before commencing your trading activities.
All students will receive an email (from the Unit Team) that contains a username and password for an account on easyMarkets by 30/3/2018. On receiving this, please do not change the settings (i.e. please do not change the email and password on the account). Please do not provide or add any information of personal nature to the account. The url for direct access to the login area on easyMarkets is https://www.easymarkets.com/au/. It is highly recommended that you do not start trading straight away; rather, it would be very useful to spend some time reviewing the features on easyMarkets. The foreign exchange market reacts very rapidly to news, so it is important that you do make it a point to spend a few minutes every day keeping track of how economic variables impact the forex market. Please note that your account will not be replenished if your funds run out; this is to ensure that you manage risk while trading. Disclaimer: Deakin University is not responsible for the content that appears on easyMarkets. The use of easyMarkets in this unit is for educational purposes only. easyMarkets is one of many firms providing services for transacting in the foreign exchange market, and students who wish to invest in the foreign exchange market are advised to research the market thoroughly to find a suitable firm for their purpose. Successful speculation in this assignment does not guarantee success in actual speculative trading.
Please note:
- The demo accounts function in exactly the same way as a normal account, so if your funds run low you may receive a default message from easyMarkets reminding you that your account needs to be replenished. As demo account holder, you do not have to, and should
Page 3 of 6
not, provide any information of a personal nature to easyMarkets. So, if you do receive any such message, please ignore it.
- Please do not hit the “Switch to Live account” button.
- Before completing your assignment and turning it in, please ensure that all open positions (trades) are closed. If a position remains open after the due date (10/5/2018), it will be closed at any time by the unit team during the marking process, and any losses will be counted toward your final account balance (while any profits will not be counted).
Assessment:
The speculative component of this assignment is marked out of 15. Grades are based on performance in trading, that is, the amount of money (denominated in AUD) in the account when the assignment is submitted.
There is a hurdle requirement to pass this component of the assignment: you must undertake at least 12 transactions (or trades) by the due date of the assignment (10/5/2018) using the demo account provided to you by the Unit Team. For the purpose of this assignment, a transaction is defined as entering into an open position and eventually closing it before submitting the assignment. So, for example, if you bought AUD 100,000 (against USD) on 9/4/2018 and closed this position on 12/4/2018, you would have completed one transaction. Any student who undertakes between 1 and 11 transactions during the trimester using the demo account provided by the unit team will receive a score of 4.5 out of 15. Any student who does not conduct any transaction will receive 0 out of 15. In order to calculate the scores, accounts will be ranked on performance. The distribution of scores for those who satisfy the hurdle requirement (having completed 12 or more transactions) is shown in the table below:
Ranking of student (with 12 or more completed transactions)
Score
Top three students 15.0
Next 5% 13.5
Next 15% 12.0
Next 15% 11.0
Next 15% 10.0
Next 15% 9.5
Next 15% 9.0
Next 10% 8.5
Remainder 8.0
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You will realise as you commence trading that the foreign exchange market is extremely volatile. Trading in this market is, therefore, a very risky proposition. The purpose of this trading game is not to make you a forex trader (though some of you may find that you have a talent for it). Rather, it is meant to provide you with insights into the functioning of the foreign exchange market, which is best achieved by participating in it.
(B) Report (25 points)
The report must start with a cover sheet (using the template posted on CloudDeakin). On the cover sheet of your report, please provide the information as requested (your last name, first name, and student ID; username and password for your trading account; the final account balance and the number of transactions undertaken for each instrument; the currencies traded; and the word count). Your assignment will only be graded when all information required in the cover sheet are provided. Immediately after the cover sheet, please provide a 1-page executive summary. The executive summary should show a brief account of your overall strategy, the financial instruments you have used, the number of transactions and currencies you have traded, and justify the total losses/profits on your account and whether or not you have undertaken any risk management activities. In the body of the report, please provide a detailed description of the trading strategy you have employed. You do not need to explain every transaction; this would be virtually impossible given the word limit. Rather, your report should attempt to show the sophistication and management of the trading strategies, highlight how you have used the theoretical tools developed in this unit, any research you have conducted on the foreign exchange market, and the manner in which you have approached your trading activity, using specific transactions as examples. You should also discuss the use of risk management tools available on the easyMarkets platform during the trading period. Please note that any news item or report that helped you make your decisions should be carefully referenced and, if possible, included in the Appendix.
In an Appendix to the report, please include the information below. First, click on the ‘My easyMarkets’ tab located on the top right of the trading platform when you log-in, and then:
(1) Click on ‘Reports’ under ‘My Account’, then choose ‘My Statement’, set the date from when you commenced trading to when you stopped and print the screen. (2) Click on ‘My Closed Trades’ under ‘My Trades’, set the date from when you commenced trading to when you stopped, and print the position data. Please check to include all trades (set rows to, say, 100 per page) under Day Trading, Forwards, Pending Orders (Limit Orders), and Vanilla Options.
Please note that even if you lose money while speculating, it is quite possible for you to do well in this component of the assignment if you are able to provide a clear and logical account of your strategy, and possibly some insight into why it led to losses. Similarly, students that make money must also substantiate their strategy in the report in order to do well in the assignment.
Page 5 of 6
Assessment criteria (see the attached rubrics):
• Sophistication and management of the trading strategy. [6 points] (GLO6 assessed: Self-management)
• Use of the theoretical tools developed in this unit to support the trading strategy. [5 points] (GLO1 assessed: Discipline-specific knowledge and capabilities)
• Use of research and external sources (i.e. news) to support the trading strategy. [5 points] (GLO5 assessed: Problem solving)
• Use of trading and risk management tools available on easyMarkets. [5 points] (GLO3 assessed: Digital literacy)
• Overall presentation, clarity of expression, communication of ideas, and referencing. [4 points] (GLO4 assessed: Critical thinking)
All elements of the report must be included in one single document (which should be of either Word or PDF format) to be uploaded on CloudDeakin by the due date. Please name the document using this format: “IBF-xxx-Surname-First name”, where “xxx” stands for your IBF account number (for example “IBF-001-Nguyen-Xuan”). Your report should follow the Harvard style of referencing.
Submission Instructions
It is strongly advised that you submit the report early to avoid any congestion within the last hours. 1. Please note that part A (the internet trading game) must be completed prior to submitting part B (the report). Make sure that you have had at least 12 closed positions by the assignment due date. It is advised that you stop all trading activities a few days before the due date so that you will have sufficient time to improve the quality of your report. In any case, please carefully check your allocated demo account to ensure that all transactions (Day Trading, Forwards, Options) as well as Limit Orders have been closed before you submit your report. If there is any discrepancy between the final balance in the report and the balance on your allocated demo account when your assignment is graded (which can happen at any time after the due date), we will use the lower of the two balances to determine your mark. 2. Your access to the allocated demo account will cease at any time after the assignment due date. 3. To submit your report, just follow the ‘Assignment submission’ link, where you can upload your report file. This link will be active from 3/5/2018 until your assignment due date. You can upload one file only (Word or PDF). Your submission should contain all of the following elements: assignment cover sheet, executive summary, analysis, and appendix. Please read the assignment document carefully to make sure that you have supplied all information as required, and that you have named your report file properly. 4. Uploading your report requires that you have read and accepted the university's plagiarism and collusion declaration. Be sure to make proper citations and references to works done by other people that have been included in your report.
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5. Any work you submit may be checked by electronic or other means for the purposes of detecting collusion and/or plagiarism. 6. Only reports submitted following the ‘Assignment submission' link will be graded. You can overwrite your submission at any time but not after the due date. Your final submitted report will be graded. 7. You must keep a backup copy of the assignment you submit, until the marked assignment has been returned to you. In the unlikely event that your assignment is misplaced, you will need to submit your backup copy. 8. Please let the Unit Chair know if you need further assistance in submitting your assignment. 9. When you are required to submit an assignment through your CloudDeakin unit site, you will receive an email to your Deakin email address confirming that it has been submitted. You should check that you can see your assignment in the Submissions view of the Assignment dropbox folder after upload, and check for, and keep, the email receipt for the submission. 10. You will receive a score with some feedback on your work by 1/6/2018.
Notes
• Penalties for late submission: The following marking penalties will apply if you submit an assessment task after the due date without an approved extension: 5% will be deducted from available marks for each day up to five days, and work that is submitted more than five days after the due date will not be marked. You will receive 0% for the task. 'Day' means working day for paper submissions and calendar day for electronic submissions. The Unit Chair may refuse to accept a late submission where it is unreasonable or impracticable to assess the task after the due date.
• For more information about academic misconduct, special consideration, extensions, and assessment feedback, please refer to the document Your rights and responsibilities as a student in this Unit in the first folder next to the Unit Guide of the Resources area in the CloudDeakin unit site.
• Building evidence of your experiences, skills and knowledge (Portfolio) - Building a portfolio that evidences your skills, knowledge and experience will provide you with a valuable tool to help you prepare for interviews and to showcase to potential employers. There are a number of tools that you can use to build a portfolio. You are provided with cloud space through OneDrive, or through the Portfolio tool in the Cloud Unit Site, but you can use any storage repository system that you like. Remember that a Portfolio is YOUR tool. You should be able to store your assessment work, reflections, achievements and artefacts in YOUR Portfolio. Once you have completed this assessment piece, add it to your personal Portfolio to use and showcase your learning later, when applying for jobs, or further studies. Curate your work by adding meaningful tags to your artefacts that describe what the artefact represents.
Ye t t
o ac
hi ev
e m
in im
um s
ta nd
ar d
So ph
is tic
at io
n an
d m
an ag
em en
t o f t
he tr
ad in
g st
ra te
gy [6
p oi
nt s]
0 to
2 .9
p oi
nt Po
or /la
ck o
f m an
ag em
en t o
f t ra
di ng
vo
lu m
es /f
un ds
. Po
or /la
ck o
f t im
e pl
an ni
ng o
n tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es .
Po or
/t oo
ri sk
y st
ra te
gy o
ve ra
ll. O
nl y
sp ot
tr an
sa ct
io ns
c on
du ct
ed .
3 to
3 .5
p oi
nt s
Li m
ite d
m an
ag em
en t o
f t ra
di ng
vo
lu m
es /f
un ds
. Li
m ite
d tim
e pl
an ni
ng o
n tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es .
Li m
ite d
st ra
te gy
o ve
ra ll.
O nl
y sp
ot tr
an sa
ct io
ns c
on du
ct ed
.
3. 6
to 4
.1 p
oi nt
s Ad
eq ua
te m
an ag
em en
t o f t
ra di
ng
vo lu
m es
/f un
ds .
Ad eq
ua te
ti m
e pl
an ni
ng o
n tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es .
Ad eq
ua te
st ra
te gy
o ve
ra ll.
O nl
y sp
ot tr
an sa
ct io
ns c
on du
ct ed
.
4. 2
to 4
.7 p
oi nt
s G
oo d
m an
ag em
en t o
f t ra
di ng
vo
lu m
es /f
un ds
. G
oo d
tim e
pl an
ni ng
o n
tr ad
in g
ac tiv
iti es
. G
oo d
st ra
te gy
o ve
ra ll.
Ev id
en ce
o n
us e
of in
st ru
m en
ts .
4. 8
to 6
p oi
nt s
Ex ce
lle nt
m an
ag em
en t o
f t ra
di ng
vo
lu m
es /f
un ds
. Ex
ce lle
nt ti
m e
pl an
ni ng
o n
tr ad
in g
ac tiv
iti es
. Ex
ce lle
nt st
ra te
gy o
ve ra
ll. Ex
ce lle
nt u
se o
f i ns
tr um
en ts
.
U se
o f t
he th
eo re
tic al
to ol
s de
ve lo
pe d
in th
is u
ni t t
o su
pp or
t t he
tr ad
in g
st ra
te gy
[5 p
oi nt
s]
0 to
2 .4
p oi
nt La
ck o
f u se
o f t
he or
y in
re al
w or
ld c
on te
xt .
La ck
o f j
us tif
ic at
io n
of h
ow th
eo ry
h as
b ee
n us
ed fo
r t ra
di ng
a ct
iv iti
es .
2. 5
to 2
.9 p
oi nt
s Li
m ite
d us
e of
th eo
ry in
re al
w or
ld c
on te
xt .
Li m
ite d
ju st
ifi ca
tio n
of h
ow th
eo ry
h as
b ee
n us
ed fo
r t ra
di ng
a ct
iv iti
es .
3 to
3 .4
p oi
nt s
Ad eq
ua te
u se
o f t
he or
y in
re al
w or
ld
co nt
ex t.
Ad
eq ua
te ju
st ifi
ca tio
n of
h ow
th eo
ry h
as
be en
u se
d fo
r t ra
di ng
a ct
iv iti
es .
3. 5
to 3
.9 p
oi nt
s G
oo d
us e
of th
eo ry
in re
al w
or ld
c on
te xt
. G
oo d
ju st
ifi ca
tio n
of h
ow th
eo ry
h as
b ee
n us
ed fo
r t ra
di ng
a ct
iv iti
es .
4 to
5 p
oi nt
s Ex
ce lle
nt u
se o
f t he
or y
in re
al w
or ld
c on
te xt
. Ex
ce lle
nt ju
st ifi
ca tio
n of
h ow
th eo
ry h
as
be en
u se
d fo
r t ra
di ng
a ct
iv iti
es .
U se
o f r
es ea
rc h
an d
ex te
rn al
so
ur ce
s (i.
e. n
ew s)
to s
up po
rt
th e
tr ad
in g
st ra
te gy
[5 p
oi nt
s]
0 to
2 .4
p oi
nt La
ck o
f e vi
de nc
e on
k ee
pi ng
tr ac
k of
p ol
ic y
an no
un ce
m en
ts .
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o f e
vi de
nc e
on k
ee pi
ng tr
ac k
of n
ew s.
La ck
o f j
us tif
ic at
io n
of tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es
ba se
d on
p ol
ic y
an no
un ce
m en
ts /n
ew s.
2. 5
to 2
.9 p
oi nt
s Li
m ite
d ev
id en
ce o
n ke
ep in
g tr
ac k
of p
ol ic
y an
no un
ce m
en ts
. Li
m ite
d ev
id en
ce o
n ke
ep in
g tr
ac k
of n
ew s.
Li m
ite d
ju st
ifi ca
tio n
of tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es
ba se
d on
p ol
ic y
an no
un ce
m en
ts /n
ew s.
3 to
3 .4
p oi
nt s
So m
e ev
id en
ce o
n ke
ep in
g tr
ac k
of p
ol ic
y an
no un
ce m
en ts
. So
m e
ev id
en ce
o n
ke ep
in g
tr ac
k of
n ew
s. Ad
eq ua
te ju
st ifi
ca tio
n of
tr ad
in g
ac tiv
iti es
ba
se d
on p
ol ic
y an
no un
ce m
en ts
/n ew
s.
3. 5
to 3
.9 p
oi nt
s G
oo d
ke ep
in g
tr ac
k of
p ol
ic y
an no
un ce
m en
ts .
G oo
d ke
ep in
g tr
ac k
of n
ew s.
G oo
d ju
st ifi
ca tio
n of
tr ad
in g
ac tiv
iti es
ba
se d
on p
ol ic
y an
no un
ce m
en ts
/n ew
s.
4 to
5 p
oi nt
s Ex
ce lle
nt k
ee pi
ng tr
ac k
of p
ol ic
y an
no un
ce m
en ts
. Ex
ce lle
nt k
ee pi
ng tr
ac k
of n
ew s.
Ex ce
lle nt
ju st
ifi ca
tio n
of tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es
ba se
d on
p ol
ic y
an no
un ce
m en
ts /n
ew s.
U se
o f t
ra di
ng a
nd ri
sk
m an
ag em
en t t
oo ls
a va
ila bl
e on
ea
sy M
ar ke
ts
[5 p
oi nt
s]
0 to
2 .4
p oi
nt La
ck o
f u se
o f r
isk m
an ag
em en
t t oo
ls.
La ck
o f j
us tif
ic at
io n
of h
ow ri
sk
m an
ag em
en t t
oo ls
ha ve
b ee
n us
ed in
tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es .
2. 5
to 2
.9 p
oi nt
s Li
m ite
d us
e of
ri sk
m an
ag em
en t t
oo ls.
Li
m ite
d ju
st ifi
ca tio
n of
h ow
ri sk
m
an ag
em en
t t oo
ls ha
ve b
ee n
us ed
in
tr ad
in g
ac tiv
iti es
.
3 to
3 .4
p oi
nt s
Ad eq
ua te
u se
o f r
isk m
an ag
em en
t t oo
ls.
Ad eq
ua te
ju st
ifi ca
tio n
of h
ow ri
sk
m an
ag em
en t t
oo ls
ha ve
b ee
n us
ed in
tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es .
3. 5
to 3
.9 p
oi nt
s G
oo d
us e
of ri
sk m
an ag
em en
t t oo
ls.
G oo
d ju
st ifi
ca tio
n of
h ow
ri sk
m an
ag em
en t
to ol
s h av
e be
en u
se d
in tr
ad in
g ac
tiv iti
es .
4 to
5 p
oi nt
s Ex
ce lle
nt u
se o
f r isk
m an
ag em
en t t
oo ls.
Ex
ce lle
nt ju
st ifi
ca tio
n of
h ow
ri sk
m
an ag
em en
t t oo
ls ha
ve b
ee n
us ed
in
tr ad
in g
ac tiv
iti es
.
O ve
ra ll
pr es
en ta
tio n,
c la
rit y
of
ex pr
es si
on , c
om m
un ic
at io
n of
id
ea s,
a nd
re fe
re nc
in g
[4 p
oi nt
s]
0 to
1 .9
p oi
nt Po
or /la
ck o
f e xe
cu tiv
e su
m m
ar y
an d/
or
ap pe
nd ix
. Po
or re
po rt
st ru
ct ur
e. Po
or st
at em
en ts
/t er
m in
ol og
ie s a
nd
de sc
rip tio
ns o
f t he
tr ad
in g
st ra
te gy
. Ci
ta tio
ns /r
ef er
en ce
s a re
m iss
in g
an d/
or
co nt
ai n
to o
m an
y er
ro rs
.
2 to
2 .3
p oi
nt s
Li m
ite d
at te
m pt
o n
ex ec
ut iv
e su
m m
ar y
an d
ap pe
nd ix
. W
ea k
re po
rt st
ru ct
ur e.
St at
em en
ts /t
er m
in ol
og ie
s a nd
d es
cr ip
tio ns
of
th e
tr ad
in g
st ra
te gy
c on
ta in
so m
e pr
ob le
m s.
Ci ta
tio ns
/r ef
er en
ce s c
on ta
in so
m e
er ro
rs .
2. 4
to 2
.7 p
oi nt
s Ad
eq ua
te e
xe cu
tiv e
su m
m ar
y an
d ap
pe nd
ix .
Ad eq
ua te
re po
rt st
ru ct
ur e.
St at
em en
ts /t
er m
in ol
og ie
s a nd
d es
cr ip
tio ns
of
th e
tr ad
in g
st ra
te gy
c on
ta in
so m
e m
in or
pr
ob le
m s.
Ci ta
tio ns
/r ef
er en
ce s c
on ta
in so
m e
m in
or
er ro
rs .
2. 8
to 3
.1 p
oi nt
s G
oo d
ex ec
ut iv
e su
m m
ar y
an d
ap pe
nd ix
. G
oo d
re po
rt st
ru ct
ur e.
G oo
d st
at em
en ts
/t er
m in
ol og
ie s a
nd
de sc
rip tio
ns o
f t he
tr ad
in g
st ra
te gy
. Ci
ta tio
ns /r
ef er
en ce
s c on
ta in
fe w
m in
or
er ro
rs .
3. 2
to 4
p oi
nt s
Ex ce
lle nt
e xe
cu tiv
e su
m m
ar y
an d
ap pe
nd ix
. Ex
ce lle
nt re
po rt
st ru
ct ur
e. Ex
ce lle
nt st
at em
en ts
/t er
m in
ol og
ie s a
nd
de sc
rip tio
ns o
f t he
tr ad
in g
st ra
te gy
. Co
rr ec
t c ita
tio ns
/r ef
er en
ce s.
(fa il)
0 to
1 2.
4 po
in ts
(p as
s) 12
.5 to
1 4.
9 po
in ts
(c re
di t)
15 to
1 7.
4 po
in ts
(d is
tin ct
io n)
17 .5
to 1
9. 9
po in
ts (h
ig h
di st
in ct
io n)
20 to
2 5
po in
ts O
ve ra
ll sc
or e
Cr ite
ria
M PE
70 7
T1 .2
01 8
A ss
ig nm
en t M
ar ki
ng C
rit er
ia (R
ub ric
s)
Ex ce
ed s
st an
da rd
M ee
ts s
ta nd
ar d
(fa il)
(p as
s) (c
re di
t) (d
is tin
ct io
n) (h
ig h
di st
in ct
io n)
- Assessment Template DBS BCom MBA Jan 2018 MPE707
- Rubrics T1 2018 rt1
