This course is designed to give participants an overview of the nature and operation of financial markets and to prepare them for more advanced work in corporate and market finance. The course begins with a survey of the importance of the financial system, introduces instruments, markets and financial institutions, discusses regulation and supervision, and examines operation of primary and secondary markets. A detailed presentation of the Cash, Bond and Equity markets is dealt with. For each market, organization is described, the major actors are presented, and the characteristics of the main instruments and transactions are explained along with those of related derivative products. Basic principles of valuation are also introduced.