This week, we have a change of pace from our usual new articles on many different subjects. We are focussing on one topic in this edition, and it's also a chance to catch up on some of the 2,000 articles archived on our website.
It's rare that I read a book which makes me think differently. Hans Rosling's Factfulness has a subtitle, "Ten reasons we're wrong about the world - and why things are better than you think."
It was recently longlisted for the FT/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award.
Bill Gates said of this book: "One of the most important books I've ever read - an indispensable guide to thinking clearly about the world."
The book starts with a quiz to test yourself about the world and how you understand it. We have recreated the test so we can compare Cuffelinks readers with worldwide and Australian results. Please take a few minutes to do the test before reading my article on the book.
While I encourage you to buy the book for a better understanding (and note we have no commercial interest in you doing so), my article will give a flavour of Hans Rosling's analysis.
Many of you will know Rosling from the extraordinary visualisation he created in 2010 on '200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats'. Viewed some 8.5 million times, in only four minutes, he takes us through how life expectancy and income changed around the world over 200 years. The Youtube link is here.
Remember, it's also a chance to catch up on those Cuffelinks articles you meant to revisit but never found time. You can also:
- Use the search box in the top right of our home page to research any financial subject.
- Check the 'About Us' section of the menu bar at the top of the home page to look for any of over 600 authors under the 'Find Writers' Articles' tab.
- The menu bar also includes the six Special Ebooks we have produced over the years.
- The Education Centre on the menu is chock full of reports on LICs, ETFs and White Papers.
- The content written by all our sponsors is collected in their own section, if you want to find out more about their insights and whether you should invest with or use them.
But most important this week is the Factfulness quiz. After completing it, check the slides provided by Gapminder to explain the answers better.
The Additional Features section below includes the latest reports on ETFs, LICs and listed securities. Normal service on exclusive new articles will resume next week.
Graham Hand, Managing Editor
For a PDF version of this week’s newsletter articles, click here.