CNBC spent ten years waiting to make charts about Brexit. They compiled data on growth, immigration, sterling, trade, and politics. They used multiple charts. Probably bar graphs. Maybe a line chart if they felt adventurous.
The UK voted to leave the European Union in 2016. A decade later, CNBC discovered the country still exists. It has an economy. People live there. The pound sterling remains legal tender. Shocking stuff.
Retail traders have spent ten years trying to trade Brexit headlines. Every speech. Every negotiation. Every chart comparing UK growth to EU growth. They analyzed immigration data like it would predict the next pip movement. They bought sterling on dips. Sold it on rips. Lost money both ways.
Here's what the charts probably show: some lines went up, other lines went down, and a few lines stayed roughly the same. GDP exists. Trade flows exist. Political parties still argue about things. Immigration numbers changed but people still complain about immigration numbers. The pound is worth less than it used to be but it's worth more than it was at some other point, which means absolutely nothing for your forex position that got stopped out in 2019.
Ten years of data. Ten years of analysis. Ten years of experts explaining what it all means. And traders still think the next CNBC chart compilation will be the one that finally makes them profitable.
The real story isn't what changed in Britain. It's that financial media can milk a single referendum for a full decade of content, and morons will keep clicking because they think understanding the political economy of a mid-sized island nation will help them time their SPY calls.
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