Given how often “defensive” enters into the investing lexicon and that it can mean different things to different people, aiming for a greater degree of precision in its definition may help to reduce misunderstanding or generalized historical bias.

Twenty ways to make mistakes with money, the history of monetary innovation, untangling misconceptions around interest rates, and the truth (data) about the creativity of pop songs. It was (not) a boring week!

In theory, investors should improve at least linearly over time as they make and learn from errors. But in practice, there seems to be little evidence of this (only few active managers beat the market over longer time periods).

Italy has been the source of drama in recent weeks, and it hasn’t all been about men racing bicycles in spandex.

On the docket this week is an in-depth study of the effects of high household debt; the harrowing developments in data mining for surveillance; a surprising perspective on Bangladesh’s economic state; and a podcast aimed to help you with better decision-making.

These 15 questions are by no means exhaustive—they are not intended to be—but they serve as a helpful checklist for the main structural factors to consider when assessing a country’s macroeconomic backdrop.