Biggest 2016 risk may be the one just behind us: oil

London

THE biggest financial risk in 2016 may be the one that's been on stage all year.

In Britain's popular Christmas pantomime shows, audiences scream out "He's behind you!" as a warning to the hero whenever the villain appears.

That refrain is almost audible as investment strategists scan 2016 for risk events, as the well-known baddie of plummeting oil prices re-emerges from behind the curtain.

It's so familiar now, it's hard to register a further oil price drop as a 'new' risk, however.

Financial markets have been living with the consequences of the energy deflation since mid-2014, and the fallout has been pervasive. The idea of another shock of that magnitude is unnerving to say the least.

More than a trillion dollars of market capitalisation has been wiped off oil stocks worldwid…