Investing knowledge, made clear
Understand investing,
one concept
at a time.
From ETFs to company valuation, from financial statements to the Fed.
Connect the ideas that help you understand the markets.
Quick topics ETF P/E ratio Federal funds rate (Chinese)
THE INVESTING MAP
Build your
investing perspective.
Understand
Markets
Business value
The economy
Price trends
Understand first. Decide with context.
01 Clear concepts
02 Understand the why
03 Connect the ideas
04 Recognize the risks
EXPLORE THE LIBRARY
Where would you like to start?
Six paths to a clearer view of investing.
01 / Investing basics
17 articles
Investing basics
Learn the language of investing: assets, trading and market structure.
Show / hide all articles (14 more)
Required rate of return (Chinese)
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (Chinese)
Credit default swaps (CDS) (Chinese)
Year-over-year vs. period-over-period growth (Chinese)
Institutional holdings and Form 13F (Chinese)
Mortgage-backed securities (MBS) (Chinese)
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) (Chinese)
02 / Financials & valuation
54 articles
Financials & valuation
From financial statements to valuation metrics, understand how businesses earn money and create value.
Show / hide all articles (51 more)
Non-controlling interests (Chinese)
Shareholders’ equity (Chinese)
The price-to-cash-flow ratio (P/CF) (Chinese)
Operating expenses (OpEx) (Chinese)
Cost of goods sold (COGS) (Chinese)
Gross, operating and net profit
Enterprise value multiples (Chinese)
Degree of operating leverage (Chinese)
Debt service coverage ratio (Chinese)
Capital expenditure (CapEx) (Chinese)
The capital asset pricing model (CAPM) (Chinese)
Degree of financial leverage (Chinese)
Dividend payout ratio (Chinese)
Weighted average cost of capital (WACC) (Chinese)
Return on capital employed (ROCE) (Chinese)
Asset turnover ratio (Chinese)
Inventory turnover ratio (Chinese)
Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization (Chinese)
Earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) (Chinese)
Peter Lynch’s fair value (Chinese)
The price/earnings-to-growth ratio (PEG) (Chinese)
Net current asset value (Chinese)
Net-net working capital (Chinese)
Equity-to-assets ratio (Chinese)
Debt-to-equity ratio (Chinese)
Cash-flow-to-debt ratio (Chinese)
Return on assets (ROA) (Chinese)
Return on invested capital (ROIC) (Chinese)
Interest coverage ratio (Chinese)
The cash flow statement (Chinese)
The income statement (Chinese)
Return on equity (ROE) (Chinese)
The price-to-sales ratio (P/S)
03 / Macroeconomics
20 articles
Macroeconomics
Connect interest rates, inflation and monetary policy to the wider economic picture.
Show / hide all articles (17 more)
The Federal Reserve’s balance sheet (Chinese)
The Federal Reserve’s primary dealers (Chinese)
The National Financial Conditions Index (Chinese)
The Buffett indicator (Chinese)
Open market operations (Chinese)
Interest on reserve balances (Chinese)
Overnight reverse repurchase agreements (Chinese)
The unemployment rate (Chinese)
The House Price Index (Chinese)
Money supply: M0, M1 and M2 (Chinese)
04 / Technical analysis
11 articles
Technical analysis
Understand price, volume and common indicators, along with the limits of each tool.
Show / hide all articles (8 more)
05 / Commodities
3 articles
Commodities
Explore energy and raw materials, and how supply, demand and economic cycles connect.
All articles in this category are shown.
06 / Methods & investors
11 articles
Methods & investors
Explore research methods and investor stories to build your own way of thinking.
Explore all 116 topics. Links marked “Chinese” open the original article; available English translations are linked directly.
A CLEAR PLACE TO START
New here? Follow this learning path.
From understanding the market to understanding a business.
01
MEET THE MARKET
Know what you are investing in.
Build a foundation with funds, sectors and common asset types.
02
UNDERSTAND A BUSINESS
From the business to the numbers.
Learn how financial statements connect revenue, assets and cash flow.
03
WIDEN YOUR PERSPECTIVE
Put the business in context.
Understand interest rates and monetary policy to put market changes in context.
EDITOR’S PICKS
One question. A clearer answer.
Start with these ideas and connect the bigger picture.
THE BIG PICTURE
Tech
Finance
Health
Energy
Industry
Consumer
11
SECTORS
INVESTING BASICS · MARKET STRUCTURE
How well do you know
the 11 stock market sectors?
See the US stock market through its sectors and understand how businesses connect and differ.
01
Financials & valuation
What can a balance sheet tell you? (Chinese)
Understand a business through its assets, liabilities and equity.
02
Technical analysis
How do Bollinger Bands show volatility?
Explore the indicator’s structure, uses and limitations.
03
Macroeconomics
Why does the yield curve matter? (Chinese)
Understand how interest rates vary across maturities.
KNOWLEDGE BEFORE DECISIONS
Investing starts with understanding.
HowLifeUSA explains investing concepts, analytical methods and how markets work. Make every article another building block in your understanding.
Content is for education and information only, not personalized investment advice. Investing involves risk; make decisions based on your own circumstances.