Merryn's blog

The Financial Conduct Authority has asked for ideas on how to improve the consumer investment market. But perhaps the best thing to do right now would…

China is one of the few places left to good investors hoping to make a decent return, says Merryn Somerset Webb.

Tax rises can’t do much to reduce the two-trillion-pound hole in our public finances. And the economy is too fragile for a tax grab now anyway. So whe…

Companies are turning their backs on public stockmarkets and raising more and more money from private equity. Merryn Somerset Webb explains why this i…

Europe’s latest fiscal intervention looks like the kind of muddle-through that makes a United States of Europe more likely, says Merryn Somerset Webb.…

With Britons choosing to holiday in the UK this year, the owners of the country’s holiday cottages are cleaning up. Should you buy in, too? Merryn? So…

Private equity is taking over from public stockmarkets as the biggest provider of capital to companies. That’s bad for investors and bad for society a…

Dividends may never die, but they are certainly shrinking. And may not return to the levels we saw in the past. Merryn Somerset Webb explains what inc…

Greece is to offer a ten-year tax incentive to foreign pensioners. That’s a pretty good offer, says Merryn Somerset Webb. But it might not last.

With the UK desperate to raise more money to cover the massive rise in public spending, squeezing more revenue out of capital gains tax looks like an …

Whether you’re going on a staycation (or even an actual holiday) or remaining holed up at home. Merryn Somerset Webb has four perfect books to educate…

“Pent-up demand” is usually a myth. But not this time. The Covid lockdown has created genuine pent-up demand, says Merryn Somerset Webb. That’s now be…

Family-run businesses make up a huge percentage of the UK’s private companies. Buy into a listed family firm, and you’re likely to net a healthy retur…

The number of city-dwellers pursuing their dream of a rural idyll is on the rise. And despite the pandemic, house prices are holding up well, says Mer…

Growth stocks have been on an extraordinary run as central banks have inflated markets. But as economies shift from recession to growth, value will wi…

We may not have had a full-scale debt jubilee, but many Covid relief measures quietly amount to “micro-jubilees”. That’s something to celebrate, says …

We’re fans of passive investing here at MoneyWeek. But active fund management has its place too, says Merryn Somerset Webb.

Many investors – including the great Warren Buffett, got caught with their trousers down by the Great Virus Crisis. But not everyone, says Merryn Some…

Japan has had one of the lowest rates of death from Covid-19, despite its densely-packed, elderly population. Merryn Somerset Webb looks explains the …

By topping up a minimal salary with dividends, many owner/directors of small companies have fallen through the net when it comes to the government’s …

Companies are excluding small shareholders from emergency equity fundraisings. There is no excuse for it, says Merryn Somerset Webb. Especially since …

Most of the funds in our investment trust portfolio have held up brilliantly through the recent market turmoil. But one trust in particular has had a …

The post-coronavirus world could look like the post-war world, argues Merryn Somerset Webb – with wealth redistributed from capital to labour, and fro…

If you’re an investor looking for income, investment trusts are a particularly good way to go, says Merryn Somerset Webb. Here are a few to consider.