1. Financial system
Financial system, its types and elements, savings and investments, functions of the financial system. Information asymmetry. Economic theories characterizing the financial system.
2. Money, monetary theory and monetary policy
Concept, meaning, functions, types and forms of money. Definition of money and money supply. Monetary theory, money market and the influence of money on the economy. Goal, instruments and types of monetary policy. Historical development of the concept of monetary policy. Central bank and its independence. Inflation targeting in the world and in the Czech Republic.
3. Time value of money and interest rates
Real, nominal, risk-free interest rate. Time structure of interest rates, yield curve. Time value of money, yield to maturity. Interest rates on the interbank money market, central bank rates, commercial bank rates. Interest rates and prices of financial documents.
4. Financial documents and securities
Characteristics of securities according to various classification criteria. Securities Act. Shares, types of shares, transactions with shares. Shareholder's equity, returns and risk arising from holding shares. Share issues. Other equity securities. Typology of bonds according to various criteria. Treasury bills, commercial papers, bills of exchange, certificates of deposit. Bond issues. Financial derivatives, their basic types and use for hedging and speculation.
5. Financial markets
Primary and secondary markets, money and capital markets, stock exchanges and OTC markets. Risk, return, efficiency of financial markets, determination of prices in financial markets. Trading mechanism, securities prices, price development indicators. Price quotations, exchange rates. Regulation and supervision. Technical and fundamental analysis.
6. Financial institutions
Main participants in the financial market, direct and indirect financing, transaction costs and information costs. Typology of institutions, changes in the structure of financial institutions. Banks and their functions. Balance sheet and management, active and passive business of banks. Savings banks, building societies, credit unions and investment banks. Insurance companies, life and non-life insurance, Collective investment, mutual funds, investment companies and investment funds. Pension funds, securities dealers.