Unicorns, narwhals, yaks, cows and civets – what have all these creatures got to do with your hard-earned cash?

Well, far more than you would think at first glance. They are all beasts that appear in the global economic ecosystem. They pop up as warnings, messages, signals and useful analogies in order to help us navigate what can sometimes be a confusing, closed-off world.

In this book, BBC journalists Dhruti Shah and Dominic Bailey guide you through the confusing world of business jargon with a bold, graphic bestiary. As well as more familiar terms such as piggy bank, loan sharks and rat race, there are alligator spreads – which occur when an investor will never be able to make a profit on their transactions, or a lobster trap, which is a type of strategy a company will deploy in order to prevent a hostile takeover. There is even the memorable honorific of ‘vampire squid’ given to Goldman Sachs.

The jargon of the business world is a code but this illustrated guide is here to take you on a safari – seeking out ants, zebras and a whole lot more – and helping you to understand them. You wouldn’t want to enter a bear pit unprepared, so keep this guide to the animals of the financial jungle to hand.