Case:
Before starting the case, make sure to go through the required reading material carefully. Review the concepts of exchange rates, currency hedging, and other methods of dealing with exchange rate risk. The topic of this module is difficult, so make sure you go carefully through all of the required tutorials and book chapters. When you have finished reviewing the background materials, apply your knowledge of the material to answer the following questions in a four to five page paper:
1. Suppose you are running a very small business that exports all of its products to Europe, and 100% of your revenue comes from Euros. You have a family to support and a drop in the value of the Euro could be devastating to your personal financial situation. What methods do you think would be best to manage this risk under your circumstances? Refer to at least one of the required readings from the background materials in your answer.
2. Consider a large multinational consumer product company with operations in all major advanced and emerging economies. Now suppose the value of Indonesian and South African currencies drops dramatically and the value of the Chinese RMB increases dramatically. What kind of strategic changes in marketing and/or location of production facilities do you think this company should take given these new exchange rates? Explain your reasoning, and make references to Deloitte Research (2006) and Shackman (2015) in your answer.
3. Suppose you are a financial manager stationed in a foreign country, and your boss at headquarters in New York asks you to make a prediction about the future exchange rates in the country you are currently in. You see that the economy in the country you are in has started to grow more rapidly with a lot of new foreign investment. You also see that prices are much lower in this country than they are back in the U.S. For example, you see that the price of a Big Mac at McDonalds is half of what it costs you at home. Would you tell your boss that you expect the value of the currency in this country will increase or decrease? Explain your reasoning, and make references to Dlaby and Scott (2006) in your answer.
SLP:
For your final SLP, do some research on the currency and banking situation in your country.
We normally think of currency and banking risks as being something confined to third world or developing countries. But events in the last few years such as the Euro crisis or the financial crisis in the U.S. have shown that not even the wealthy, developed countries are without risks on the financial side. So it is important for any company doing business in your country to carefully consider these risks that they face.
After you've done some research about financial issues in your country, write a two to three page paper covering the following issues:
1. The currency of your country. Is it stable? Does your country have fixed or floating exchange rates? Does the exchange rate fluctuate a lot?
2. The banking system in your country. How safe is this system? Any recent banking crisis in your country?
3. Overall does the financial system in your country make it easy or difficult to do business? What kind of steps would you recommend for a company doing business in your country to hedge or minimize their financial risks? Refer to at least one of the required readings from the background materials in your answer.