Best Business MOOCs For November

Financial Markets

 

School: Yale University

Platform: Coursera

Link: Financial Markets

Start Date: November 2, 2015

Workload: 6-12 Hours Per Week

Instructor: Bob Shiller

Credentials: Professor Shiller is the Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University and 2013 co-winner of the Nobel Prize in economics.  Shiller, who has authored seven books on economics, also produces two columns: “Finance in the 21 Century” for global distribution and “Economic View” for The New York Times. His repeat sales home price indices, which he developed with Karl E. Case, are the foundation of the futures market indices maintained by The Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

Graded: No statements or certifications are awarded in conjunction with this course.

Description: This course outlines the fundamentals underlying global financial systems. It covers markets like stocks, bonds, futures, options, and swaps, outlining how these instruments work and how they’ll shape business, politics, and culture in this century.

Review: “The course is excellent, but just an introduction to the topic, so anybody who wants a very deep, graduate level study might be disappointed.

Prof. Schiller is an excellent lecturer. The course gives a personal, close feeling of the himself, of Yale University, as well as of a range of extremely popular and interesting finance & economics professionals. Guest lecturers included Maurice Greenberg (former AIG CEO), David Swenson (Chief Investment Officer at Yale — the Yale Investment Model), Laura Cha (Market Regulator Executive in China), Carl Icahn (activist investor), Andy Readleaf (Hedge Fund manager), Larry Summers (Treasury Secretary under president Clinton) and Stephen Schwarzman (founder of Blackstone group).” For additional reviews, click here.

Additional Background: Students can choose to explore course videos, discussions, and ungraded assignments for free, but they won’t be able to submit graded assignments, earn a certificate, or complete a specialization without paying a $49 fee.