When Baxton Adhesives (Baxton) receives payment denominated in Brazilian reais from its first international sale, the owner, Sebastion Jones, realizes that exchange-rate movements have substantially reduced the value of the sale in US dollars. With a follow-on order being considered, Jones must come to grips with the impact of currency risks on profitability and formulate a strategy for handling those risks. The case provides enough detail to explore both a forward hedge and a money-market hedge for the follow-on order and to discuss the impact of parity condition violations on business choices. A discussion of the profitability of the original and follow-on orders also provides a compelling review of contract pricing, with attention paid to marginal costs and opportunity costs along with currency issues.

This fictional case has been successfully used at the University of Virginia Darden School of Business in core finance classes, in a class dedicated to international finance, and in executive education programs. It is appropriate for undergraduate students, graduate students, or executives. The focus can be easily shifted between the mechanics of exchange rates, the mechanics of hedging, and the impact of violations of parity conditions on business decisions.