<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/559d150669bedd8d54eccdde-1501/european-union-eu-flag-barbed-wire-1.png" border="0" alt="european union eu flag barbed wire" data-mce-source="REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh " data-mce-caption="A barbed wire is seen in front of European Union flag iin an immigration reception centre in Bicske, Hungary June 25, 2015. " />REUTERS/Laszlo Balogh </div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li>2018 has been, by pretty much every quantifiable measure, a nightmare for investors, but while most attention has been focused on the US and China, Europe has suffered worse.</li><li>The Euro Stoxx 50 index of Europe's biggest companies has fallen more than 15% so far in 2018.</li><li>European stocks have dropped three times more than the S&amp;P 500, and are headed for their worst year since the financial crisis.</li><li>Economic woes in Germany, a budget crisis in Italy, Brexit, and France's social issues are all partly to blame for the market's horrible year in Europe.</li><li>External factors, like President Trump's trade war with China, and a continued tightening cycle from the US Federal Reserve are also hitting European stocks.</li></ul>2018 has been, by pretty much every quantifiable measure, a nightmare for investors. The market has been permeated by bouts of crazy volatility and huge price swings, but has ultimately fallen sharply, with all three major US indexes set to end the year in negative territory.A cocktail of factors, including the continued tightening of monetary policy around the globe, and worries about the economic impact of President Donald Trump's trade war with China, have pushed stocks lower after a near decade long run of gains.Understandably, much of the focus has been on what's happening in the US, and to a certain extent China, but look beyond what's happening in the two biggest economies on the planet, and it is arguable that European markets are suffering even more.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/global-markets-to-fall-and-suffer-in-2019-bank-for-international-settlements-warns-2018-12" data-analytics-position="4">If you thought 2018 was bad for markets, a cocktail of fears is set to make 2019 even worse</a>With less than a week of trading left in the year, the Euro Stoxx 50 - a benchmark of Europe's largest companies - has fallen more than 15% since the start of January, while the broader Stoxx 600 is down 13%. On Thursday, European stocks at large are trading at their lowest levels since 2016.Market data analysed by Business Insider shows not only that the Euro Stoxx has dropped around twice more than the S&amp;P 500 this year, but also that the index is set for its worst single year since 2008, during the heart of the financial crisis.<h2>Four economies, four different sets of problems</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5a6930ca00d0efc3038b46f9-2000/german flag.jpg" border="0" alt="german flag" data-mce-source="Sean Gallup/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="A man holding a German flag attends a ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall at the Bernauer Strasse memorial on August 13, 2011 in Berlin, Germany." />Sean Gallup/Getty Images</div></div></div>Problems abound in all four of the largest economies in the continent.In Germany, which in recent decades has been Europe's economic powerhouse, growth is slowing and several of its most crucial industries are bearing the brunt.Germany's Council of Economic Experts expects 1.6% growth for the country this year and only 1.5% in 2019, well below previous expectations and down from a bumper 2.2% in 2017. That's partly down to a torrid time for the country's automakers, long the backbone of Germany's manufacturing driven economy.Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/stock-market-news-markets-slump-after-feds-hawkish-tone-2018-12" data-analytics-position="1">Global markets are plunging as the Fed's 'hawkish tone' steals Christmas</a><a href="https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/investor-relations/financial-reports.html">BMW saw third-quarter operating profit plunge 27%</a> amid greater competition in global markets. The <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/3e3f3ac6-e269-11e8-8e70-5e22a430c1ad">Financial Times reported</a> in November that new European Union greenhouse-gas emissions targets for automakers - the EU seeks to reduce emissions by 30% - are behind a 0.1% contraction in Germany's gross domestic product in the third quarter as car companies struggle to adapt.In fact, Germany is looking so fragile that its benchmark share index, the DAX, has become a target for short sellers looking to profit from German industry's misery.AQR Capital, a quant-driven hedge fund, is betting about €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) on a decline in German stocks, joining other short sellers in swirling the index for returns after a brutal year for the country's equities, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/aqr-puts-13-billion-short-bet-on-german-stocks-amid-daxs-bad-year-2018-12">Business Insider reported last week.</a><h2>Civil unrest hits markets</h2><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c0be28345972a31eb6544a5-2000/gettyimages-1069754776.jpg" border="0" alt="Paris Yellow Vests December 8" data-mce-source="Getty Images" data-mce-caption="Protesters surrounded by tear gas during the December 8 protest in Paris." />Getty Images</div></div></div>In France, while the protests of the so-called 'yellow vests' are largely a social issue, t<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/france-yellow-vest-protests-will-keep-damaging-the-economy-2018-12">hey are already being shown to cause damage both to the French economy</a>, and in the markets. The yellow vest protests are expected to <a href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/12/10/frances-yellow-vest-protests-have-halved-economic-growth-central/">halve</a> the country's GDP growth by 0.2% from 0.4% in the fourth quarter, and retailers have lost an estimated €1 billion in revenue since the protests erupted in November. Last week shares in tourism-related companies saw their worst week in months, while investment bank RBC warned that the protests could impact French luxury stocks negatively.Italy also has its problems. While <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/italy-budget-rome-and-eu-agree-deal-on-budget-deficit-2018-12">the budget crisis that has gripped the country in recent months seems to finally have a solution,</a> the country's government is volatile and highly eurosceptic, and it is not impossible that it will go back on the deal struck with the EU on WednesdayContinued uncertainty over the budget has helped subdue the Italian stock market, with the benchmark FTSE MIB index dropping more than 10% since September.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/5c190873d4beaf6744756a34-1200/gettyimages-1073174478.jpg" border="0" alt="Theresa May" data-mce-source="Dan Kitwood/Getty Images" />Dan Kitwood/Getty Images</div></div></div>Britain is also causing investors serious headaches, with <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/theresa-may-to-deploy-3500-soldiers-to-handle-no-deal-brexit-chaos-2018-12">Brexit becoming seemingly ever more uncertain.</a>"Trying to forecast market movements based on the outcome of unpredictable political events is a bit like trying to play darts while riding a unicycle," Laith Khalaf, senior analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said last week. "There is some measure of Brexit fatigue in place." More broadly, business indicators are suggesting a significant slowdown across the eurozone, which will likely persist into next year. "The German and French indicators are consistent with very slow growth while the Italian indices are clearly in recession territory," a note from Capital Economics said earlier this week.Not only is Europe being buffeted by internal factors of its own making, but the external factors impacting markets around the world - tightening policy from the Fed, President Trump's trade war - are also helping to pull the European market lower.Things could get even worse next year, after the Bank for <keyword id="6356001" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="international">International</keyword> Settlements <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/global-markets-to-fall-and-suffer-in-2019-bank-for-international-settlements-warns-2018-12">said this week that it expects further market turbulence to the downside in 2019.</a>"The market tensions we saw during this quarter were not an isolated event," Claudio Borio, one of the institution's most senior staff members said on Sunday.If that prediction does come true, don't be surprised if Europe ends up bearing the brunt of the pain. <div class="margin-top"> <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/2019-market-outlook-blackrock-kate-moore-on-trade-war-possible-recession-2018-12">The equity chief at $6.3 trillion BlackRock weighs in on the trade war, a possible recession, and offers her best investing advice for a tricky 2019 landscape</a></h3> <div> <iframe class="bijwplayerclass" data-player="jwplayer" src="https://content.jwplatform.com/players/NHWPy7RX-CEZHWCBG.html" width="100%" height="100%" frameborder="0" scrolling="auto" style="margin:0px;" allowfullscreen=""></iframe><script>function receiveMessage(event){ console.log(event.data.fullscreen); Android.fullscreen(event.data.fullscreen); }window.addEventListener("message", receiveMessage, false);</script> </div> </div>

While China and the US spar over trade, Europe quietly heads for its worst year since the financial crisis

<img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/548e8b41dd0895101e8b45cf-1200-924/shinzo-abe-9.jpg" border="0" alt="Shinzo Abe">REUTERS/KyodoRe-elected Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe greets supporters.</img>Good morning! Here are the major stories you need to know about in markets today.&#xa0;
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe Won Overwhelmingly In Sunday's Election.&#xa0;Abe's party, the LDP, and its smaller coalition partner, Komeito, won 325 seats out of the 475 on offer. <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/japan-shinzo-abes-ldp-party-wins-election-2014-12">That's exactly the same proportion it won in 2012, and will likely be taken as an endorsement of Abe's economic policies</a>, despite record low turnout.&#xa0;
Oil Bounced Back A Little.&#xa0;After a colossal sell-off last week, oil prices are making a small recovery at the moment. Brent crude is back to nearly $63 per barrel, up nearly 2% on Sunday, when it dropped below $61. WTI is back above $58.50, up by about 1%, after falling just below $57.&#xa0;
But Early Signs Of A Slowdown In US Oil Fields Are Emerging.&#xa0;After leading the US economic recovery out of recession, some of the nation's top oil states are showing early signs of a slowdown as a result of the plunge in crude prices.&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-early-slowdown-signs-emerge-for-us-oil-states-after-crude-slide-2014-12#ixzz3LwkaIShG">In Houston, Texas, the first oil industry layoffs have been announced, with realtors there predicting a sharp decline, up to 12 percent, in home sales next year</a>.
US Industrial Production Is Coming.&#xa0;US figures for industrial production in November are out at 2.15 p.m. GMT, following an incredibly quiet day in Europe. Analysts are expecting a 0.7% boost from October.&#xa0; 
Asian Markets Are Mixed.&#xa0;The Nikkei closed down 1.57% after Abe's election victory, Hong Kong's Hang Seng is currently down 1.02%, but China's Shanghai Composite index has broken higher, up 0.22%.&#xa0; 
Hostages Are Being Held In A Sydney Cafe.&#xa0;Many hostages are trapped inside a central Sydney cafe, <a href="http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-hostages-held-in-sydney-cafe-islamic-flag-seen-in-window-local-tv-2014-12#ixzz3LwnGhIRl">with local television showing some being forced to hold up a black flag with white Arabic writing in the window</a>, raising fears of an attack linked to Islamic militants.
Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi Is Asking For His Own Party's Backing For Reforms.&#xa0;Renzi has staked much of his political credibility on <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-italian-pm-renzi-calls-on-factious-party-to-unite-for-reforms-2014-12#ixzz3Lwo1I0R2">a swathe of reforms to tackle Italy's record-high unemployment, snail-paced justice system and unwieldy institutions</a>,&#xa0;but faces opposition from within his own Democratic Party (PD). 
PetSmart Just Got Bought For $8.7 Billion (£5.53 billion).&#xa0;Pet supply retailer PetSmart said on Sunday it had a<a href="Pet%20supply%20retailer%20PetSmart%20Inc%20said%20on%20Sunday%20it%20had%20agreed%20to%20sell%20itself%20to%20a%20private%20equity%20consortium%20led%20by%20BC%20Partners%20Ltd%20for%20%248.7%20billion,%20in%20the%20largest%20leveraged%20buyout%20of%20the%20year.%20Read%20more:%20http://uk.businessinsider.com/r-bc-partners-to-acquire-petsmart-for-87-billion-2014-12?r=US#ixzz3LwoldCRC">greed to sell itself to a private equity consortium led by BC Partners for $8.7 billion, in the largest leveraged buyout of the year</a>. 
Volvo Is Switching Away From Traditional Car Sales.&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-volvo-to-launch-online-car-sales-in-marketing-shift-2014-12#ixzz3LwpLanlf">Volvo says it will start selling vehicles online as it rolls out new models to compete with German luxury rivals such as BMW</a>&#xa0;.&#xa0;The Swedish carmaker, controlled by China's Geely, will gradually introduce web sales and spend more on digital advertising, it said as it outlined changes to its global marketing strategy on Monday.
China's Most Popular Smartphone Vendor Just Released Profit Figures For The First Time.&#xa0;<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/r-xiaomi-made-56-million-profit-in-2013-filing-2014-12">China's Xiaomi Technology&#xa0;made a profit of 347.48 million yuan ($56.15 million)</a> on 26.58 billion yuan ($4.30 billion) in revenue in 2013, Chinese securities filings dated Monday show.

10 Things You Need To Know Before European Markets Open

<div class="image-container float_right" style="width:480px"><div class="image"><img src="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5182ad736bb3f7ab55000018-1200-924/elon-musk-of-tesla-spacex-6.jpg?maxX=480" border="0" alt="Elon Musk of Tesla, SpaceX" width="480" />REUTERS/Stephen Lam</div></div>Good morning! Here's what you need to know.
<ul>
<li>Japan's Nikkei sunk -1.59% but other Asian markets fared better. Australia's S&amp;P/ASX 200 climbed 1.07% and Korea's Kospi gained 0.30%. European markets across the board were slightly higher.</li>
<li>Weekly jobless claims data will be published at 8:30 am. Consensus is for 336,000, up from last week's 326,000. The International Council of Shopping Centers in conjunction with Goldman Sachs will also release chain store sales data.</li>
<li>Orbitz, PriceLine, Advance Auto Parts, Noodles &amp; Co. and T-Mobile announce earnings today.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/china-july-trade-grows-more-than-expected-2013-8#ixzz2bN76Y37r">China's latest trade data beat expectations today</a> but some analysts are already questioning the validity of the print. "One important question in investors’ mind is whether we can trust the quality of these trade statistics because they were significantly manipulated between October 2012 and April 2013," Bank of America Merrill Lynch's Ting Lu writes. "As RMB/USD stopped appreciating, hot money started flowing out and the government took severe measures to crack down on fake trade after April, we believe the quality of trade data was improved a lot."</li>
<li>As expected, the Bank of Japan did not announce any adjustments to its current policy. <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/bank-of-japan-monetary-policy-unchanged-2013-8">But BOJ governor Kuroda issued a statement aimed at Japanese elected officials</a>, according to Bloomberg's Toru Fjioka and Masahiro Hidaka. "Ending deflation and raising the sales tax are achievable at the same time," said Kuroda. "Restoring fiscal health is absolutely necessary and important by itself, but once fiscal discipline is loosened, it’s true that that will indirectly make a negative impact on monetary measures."</li>
<li>Tesla shares climbed more than 13% in after-hours trading <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-q2-earnings-2013-8">in the wake of another huge earnings beat</a>. EPS clocked in at $0.20/share against an expected loss of -$0.19/share, while revenue ticked $405 million against $387.9 million expected. Here's Morgan Stanley's Adam Jonas on the results: "An excellent quarter of execution, surpassing already high expectations. Tomorrow's stock reaction will depend on how the company explains the unchanged full year delivery guidance as a function of supply rather than demand. Despite expectations that continue to rise nearly as fast as the share price, Tesla seems to have found a way to deliver yet again."</li>
<li>You'll also definitely want to check out <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-response-to-bmw-i3-2013-8">how Tesla CEO Elon Musk responded when asked about BMW's hyped i3 electric car...</a></li>
<li>Groupon <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/groupon-named-eric-lefkofsky-as-ceo-2013-8">reported better-than-expected revenue as it named Eric Lefkofsky the new CEO</a>. Sales hit $608.7 against $606 million expected; EPS of $0.02/share came in at expectations. The company also announced a $300 million share buyback. </li>
<li><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/08/us-greece-unemployment-idUSBRE9770C020130808">Greek unemployment continued to climb and hit another new record</a>, ticking 27.6% in May, an increase from 27.0% last month. A full 65% of Greeks aged 18-24 are jobless. </li>
<li>Be sure to check out our <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/moto-x-review-2013-8#ixzz2bNFNPj00">Steve Kovach's review of Google's new Moto X phone</a>. He writes, "[It is] a good phone. Despite all the marketing hype, it's not going to knock your socks off, but it is the most accessible and easy-to-use Android phone I've ever tested."</li>
</ul>

10 Things You Need To Know Before The Opening Bell

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image"><img src="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/539f4aa2ecad040633726c06-1200-924/messi-argentina.jpg" border="0" alt="Messi Argentina" />REUTERS/Michael DalderArgentina's Lionel Messi celebrates scoring a goal against Bosnia during their 2014 World Cup Group F soccer match at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro June 15, 2014. </div></div></div>Stocks closed a bit higher following a lackluster day in which the market spend time in both positive and negative territory before closing little changed.
First, the scoreboard:
<ul>
<li>Dow: 16,775.65, 0, 0%</li>
<li>S&amp;P 500: 1,937.14, +1, +0.05%</li>
<li>Nasdaq: 4,319.92, +9.3, +0.2%</li>
</ul>
And now the top stories of the day:
<ul>
<li>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/empire-fed-june-16-2014-2014-6">New York Fed's latest Empire State Manufacturing Survey</a> came in at 19.3, topping expectations for a 15.0 print. Following the report, Pantheon Macro's Ian Shepherdson said this report was another sign that small businesses are reviving, adding that, "The Empire State index for June rose slightly to 19.3 from 19.0, above the consensus, 15.0, and the highest since June 2010. It is heartening to see the headline hold onto its surprise May leap; we had a expected a modest correction. The details show new orders jumping to 18.4 - also the best since June 2010 - from 10.4, while inventories and workweek also rose strongly. But shipments dipped and the employment index dropped to 10.8 from 20.9, though the May reading was far above the prior trend and the June drop still leaves the index at a decent level."</li>
<li>The <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/here-comes-industrial-production-2014-6">Federal Reserve's May industrial production report</a> showed production climbed 0.6%, topping expectations for 0.5% growth. Chris Rupkey, Chief Financial Economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/chris-rupkey-on-the-economy-2014-6">said of the report</a>: "Industrial production, the Fed's own number, rising 0.6% today in the month of May, it is at all-time, record highs. Slack, what slack? This isn't a recovery anymore, it is a full-on economic expansion... This isn't a recovery as production has already regained the ground lost in recession and keeps on moving higher and higher. Wait there's more good news. Last month it fell a sharp 0.6% a number that made us scratch our heads for an explanation, but now we don't have to explain, it is revised to down just 0.3% in April... The economy is 1% better than we knew it to be. Things are really hopping out there."</li>
<li>The National Association of Home Builders <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/june-homebuilder-confidence-2014-6">housing market index climbed to 49 in June from 45 in May</a>, topping expectations for a 47 print. "After several months of little fluctuation, a four-point uptick in builder sentiment is a welcome sign and shows some renewed confidence in the industry," NAHB chairman Kevin Kelly, said in a press release. Cooper Howes at Barclays said of the report, "This leaves the index modestly above its six-month average of 48 and suggests a gradual rebound in sentiment following a soft Q1 that was driven in part by unusually severe winter weather. While the improvement is encouraging, the NAHB noted that home builders faced 'strong headwinds, including the limited availability of labor.' We expect home builder sentiment to trend gradually higher as rising home prices, low inventory levels, and stronger housing demand boost construction activity."</li>
<li>In the corporate arena, it was a busy day for mergers and acquisitions, highlighted by the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/medtronic-to-buy-covidien-in-43-billion-deal-2014-6">$43 billion mega merger between medical device-maker Medtronic and Covidien</a>. The deal includes plans for Medtronic, currently based in Minnesota, to execute a "tax inversion," which will put its corporate headquarters in Ireland and allow the combined company to pay a lower tax rate than if it were based in the U.S. Other mergers announced today included a combination between internet networking companies <a href="http://investors.level3.com/investor-relations/press-releases/press-release-details/2014/Level-3-to-Acquire-tw-telecom/default.aspx">Level 3 Communications and tw telecom</a>, and hard drive maker <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/the-winners-of-fusion-ios-acquisition-2014-6">SanDisk acquiring Fusion-io</a>, of which Apple cofounder Steve Wozniak serves as chief scientist.</li>
<li>It was a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/tesla-nissan-bmw-charging-network-2014-6">big day for Elon Musk</a>, as shares of Tesla gained more than 8% following a report by The Financial Times that said the company's electric vehicle rivals Nissan and BMW are looking to hold talks with the company regarding collaboration on charging networks. SolarCity, the solar power company that Musk chairs, also gained more than 5%. </li>
<li>The latest salvo in the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/valeant-business-model-2014-6">ongoing saga</a> between Valeant and Allergan <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/morgan-stanley-called-valeant-house-of-cards-in-allergan-pitch-2014-6">was fired today by Allergan</a>, which issued a press release in which, among other things, it quoted a Morgan Stanley advisor that called Valeant a "house of cards.</li>
<li>Argentina's <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/argentine-stock-market-getting-pummeled-2014-6">stock market crashed</a> - falling more than 11% - after the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/supreme-court-denies-argentina-2014-6">Supreme Court refused to hear</a> the country's case against hedge fund creditors, which are seeking to be repaid following the country's default early last decade. </li>
</ul>
Don't Miss: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/low-volatility-on-wall-street-2014-6">WALL STREET'S SUMMER OF DOOM: Why Everyone Is Bored And Bleeding Money »</a>

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While China and the US spar over trade, Europe quietly heads for its worst year since the financial crisis

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