Financial institutions, financial intermediaries, and asset management firms -- Depository institutions : activities and characteristics -- The U.S. Federal Reserve and the creations of money -- Monetary policy -- Insurance companies -- Investment companies and exchange-traded funds -- Pension funds -- Properties and pricing of financial assets -- The level and structure of interest rates -- The term structure of interest rates -- Risk/return and asset pricing model -- Primary markets and the underwriting of securities -- Secondary markets -- Treasury and agency securities markets -- Municipal securities markets -- Markets for common stock : the basic characteristics -- Markets for common stock : structure and organization -- Markets for corporate senior instruments : I -- Markets for corporate senior instruments : II -- The markets for bank obligations -- The residential mortgage market -- Residential mortgage-backed securities market -- Market for commercial mortgage loans and commercial mortgage-backed securities -- Asset-backed securities markets -- Financial futures markets -- Options markets -- Pricing of futures and options contracts -- The applications of futures and options contracts -- OTC interest rate derivatives : forward rate agreements, swaps, caps, and floors -- Market for credit risk transfer vehicles : credit derivatives and collateralized debt obligations -- The market for foreign exchange and risk control instruments