Merryn's blog

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…

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 …

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.

Companies are cutting their dividends. But the truth is that you don’t have to give up all of your dividend income, says Merryn Somerset Webb. Here’s …

Covid-19 is making a huge difference to the way we live, work and do business. One of its less obvious effects, says Merryn Somerset Webb, is to accel…

After the wild ride of the last couple of weeks, equities are no longer expensive. But if you do decide to buy, be very, very careful indeed, says Mer…

The chancellor’s £6.5bn bailout of the self employed is welcome. But it has hidden benefits for the taxman, says Merryn Somerset Webb.

The government has acted swiftly to protect the earnings of those in employment, But the self-employed deserve help too. Merryn Somerset Webb has a fe…

HMRC won’t penalise non-residents who might otherwise have to pay UK tax if they get stuck in the country. That’s going to be expensive, says Merryn S…

Rishi Sunak’s Budget contained some well thought-out support policies. But, with policies introduced in times of crisis hard to back out of, we must e…

With the latest market slides, an awful lot of assets are beginning to look very cheap indeed. If you are thinking of buying, Merryn Somerset Webb has…

The chancellor could well abolish entrepreneurs’ relief in the Budget. We could use some of the tax savings to create more worker-owned businesses, sa…

An employment tribunal has ruled that two recently dismissed bricklayers were not self employed, whatever the contract they signed said. The conseque…