You will be analysing a set of financial data of your choice. It is not necessary to collect any primary data of your own, and publicly available secondary data will be sufficient for your mini project. A few examples of financial data which may be considered for analysis are given below.

New Zealand dollar Exchange rates (Data Source: Reserve Bank of New Zealand, House sale prices (Data Source: Real Estate Institute of New Zealand)

Economic Indicators such as the consumer price index (Data Source: Statistics New Zealand, Your analysis (graphs, relevant computer outputs, etc) must be presented as a mini Report. Please make sure that your Report is between 10-15 pages long (A4 size, word processed, about 300 words per page).

Suggested headings for your mini project report are given below:

Introduction

State the objectives, data source, appropriateness of your research question(s) etc.

Exploratory Analysis

Present good graphical displays of the data. Explain how they reveal the facts about the problem. If your exploratory analysis lead to any clues for the appropriate statistical model (such as the multiple regression), state so.

Modelling

Build appropriate statistical model(s) to your data. Use your model(s) to discuss the statistical and practical significance of the variables under consideration. It is not necessary that statistical significance must always be revealed, and two financial variables may not be statistically related at all. Present the pros and cons of the model(s) you have built.

Conclusions

List all your conclusions from the analyses. State the limitations as well.

Note that your mini project report may have sections different from what is suggested above. For example, you may like to name the sections appropriate to the problem.