2016: a turning point

2016 was a year in which not much actually happened, but an awful lot began to happen.

When we look back on 2016 in a decade or so, I suspect we will see it as a turning point. Not a year in which much actually happened, but one in which an awful lot of things began to happen. The UK voted against staying in the EU; the US voted against the political status quo; and Italy voted against Renzi.

But note the "against" bit. We know what we don't like. But we aren't 100% sure what we think we do like. Next year things might be a bit clearer. In the UK, clearer means understanding more about how Brexit/Brenaissance will work. John Stepek and I are beginning to think that we would like the UK to take the most simple way possible out: we'd like Theresa May to notify the EU of our intention to leave (Article 50, clause 1). And then we'd like to just leave (ignoring the two-year negotiation bit). More on this in our cover story where we've had a go at explaining exactly how all the options may pan out.

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Merryn Somerset Webb

Merryn Somerset Webb started her career in Tokyo at public broadcaster NHK before becoming a Japanese equity broker at what was then Warburgs. She went on to work at SBC and UBS without moving from her desk in Kamiyacho (it was the age of mergers).

After five years in Japan she returned to work in the UK at Paribas. This soon became BNP Paribas. Again, no desk move was required. On leaving the City, Merryn helped The Week magazine with its City pages before becoming the launch editor of MoneyWeek in 2000 and taking on columns first in the Sunday Times and then in 2009 in the Financial Times

Twenty years on, MoneyWeek is the best-selling financial magazine in the UK. Merryn was its Editor in Chief until 2022. She is now a senior columnist at Bloomberg and host of the Merryn Talks Money podcast -  but still writes for Moneyweek monthly. 

Merryn is also is a non executive director of two investment trusts – BlackRock Throgmorton, and the Murray Income Investment Trust.