In 2018, the world economy entered unfamiliar territory.
The European economy has proved a major disappointment this year. Investors started 2018 full of optimism.
Trump showing no signs of backing down
Asian stockmarkets have had a tough year, culminating in October as trade tensions, a strong US dollar, rising bond yields and weaker Chinese macro data combined to send share prices sharply lower.
The campaign fury in the build-up to the US mid-term elections may have been a factor in 'Red October', which saw the S&P 500 take a 10% intra-month hit.