Explainers
Guides
Plain-English guides to the stock market, IPOs, earnings, interest rates, inflation, recessions and startup funding. Understand the news behind the headlines.
Markets
How the stock market works, what moves prices and how to read the numbers companies report.
What Is the Stock Market and How Does It Work?
What the stock market is, how buying and selling shares works, what the S&P 500 and Dow measure, and why prices rise and fall. A plain-English guide.
6 min read
What Is an IPO? How Companies Go Public, Explained
An IPO is when a private company first sells shares to the public. How it works, how the price is set, lock-ups, risks and how investors can buy in.
5 min read
How to Read an Earnings Report: A Beginner's Guide
Revenue, EPS, margins, guidance and 'beat or miss' explained. Learn how to read a company's quarterly earnings report and why stocks move on results.
5 min read
What Moves Stock Prices? The 8 Biggest Drivers
Why stocks rise and fall: earnings, expectations, interest rates, the economy, news, investor mood and money flows. How each one moves share prices.
5 min read
Money
Interest rates, inflation and recessions: the big forces behind your loans, savings and paycheck.
How Interest Rates Affect Your Loans, Mortgage and Savings
What a Fed or RBI rate change means for your mortgage, car loan, credit card and savings account, with simple examples of what higher or lower rates cost.
5 min read
What Is Inflation and Why Does It Matter?
Inflation explained: what it is, how CPI measures it, what causes prices to rise, why central banks target 2% and how it affects your savings and pay.
4 min read
What Is a Recession? Causes, Signs and What It Means for You
What a recession is, who officially declares one, warning signs like the yield curve and Sahm rule, and how a downturn affects jobs and savings.
4 min read
Startups
How startups raise money, who invests in them and what a billion-dollar valuation really means.
How Startup Funding Works: Pre-Seed, Seed, Series A, B and C
Pre-seed, seed, Series A, B and C explained: who invests at each stage, what valuation and dilution mean, and how SAFEs and term sheets work for founders.
5 min read
What Is Venture Capital and How Does It Work?
Venture capital explained: where VC money comes from, how funds pick startups, the 2-and-20 fee model, why returns follow a power law and what VCs want.
5 min read
What Is a Unicorn Startup? Meaning, Examples and Valuations
A unicorn is a private startup valued at $1 billion or more. Where the term came from, how valuations are set, decacorns and why some unicorns fall.
4 min read