The world of business and investing is wonderfully dynamic, with new challenges, new disasters and new modes of operating. A book of this nature, while holding on to timeless principles, must keep up with what is going on. The fourth edition thus updates many areas, from the inner workings of stock markets to new accounting rules and new ways of taxing dividends.

And, of course, we need illustrations drawn from recent company and market events to enliven the discussion, placing the explained principles in an everyday setting familiar to us all, bringing ideas alive. So recent Financial Times articles are used as well as the latest statistics, screenshots from websites and tax rules.