🔅  2018 investors were wowed with the bitcoin investment opportunities becoming more available than before. You may have received that chain email about how to make millions on bitcoin and similar emoney trading opportunities with promises of making your next fortune. 🔆2007 was actually the beginning of this; and realistically some did make millions but they got in way before then.

As a 401k investor with moderate gains over the last decade. It has been a bloody valentine, but there was always promise in the long term investment ~ given the market ~ given the season.
Moreover, the major stock indexes recorded their worst decline in a decade. Most stock indexes fell over 20% from recent peaks ; thus bringing an end to the bull market that began in🔅 2009. The broadest measure of domestic bond returns were 0% for the year. Nearly all overseas bonds and equity markets also performed poorly.

 Rising 💳interest rates is one of the many factors that most of us may have seen a loss in, their long term investment portfolios.
📈The rising rates sparked a sell-off scare between investors in equities during early February. Wage gains soon moderated, but a continued decline📉 in the unemployment rate -currently 3.7% as of September🔅 2019- kept investors with an epileptic tick which, kept them looking to the ticker for a higher inflation💵 hike ahead.
However, at years end; investors were left holding the 💰bag with almost a 3% margin loss.
  Trade Tensions as of March 1st when U.S. president took 💱 markets by surprise and announced a new series of metal tariffs which could only affect the giant S&P stocks. Many of the white house threats of tariffs never materialized which left the wallstreet trade floor shaky and disillusioned.
Trade tensions between foreign countries deepened as the White House announced renegotiation of trade deals with Canada and Mexico, and also as the White house continuously loss ground in trade talks, with China.
📉Slowed global growth caused an apparent slowdown in the second half of🔅 2018. Environmental and financial reforms put the brakes on the Chinese economy, as planned, but trade frictions caused growth to slow below official targets.
  In Europe,💶 trade worries also hampered business spending, while unresolved 🇬🇧Brexit gubernatorial fears deepened and further threats to the Eurozone  continued. Oil prices continue to plummet which suggest further weakening in global economic conditions.

  What to look for in the upcoming year will be moderation in 🔅2019, as corporate profits almost certainly slow down. Overall profits for S&P 500 grew by 25% during the first three quarters of this year 🔅2019. This is a bit stronger than the first three quarters of🔅 2018. Predictions point to further slowdowns in the economic growth & will persist as the year-over-year impact of the tax cut fades, the wage gains pressure margins, and the global economy cools.
  December 🔅2018 was the worst since the Great Depression of the 🔆1920’s making a recession seem even more imminent. Of course; most investments groups find complacency in the fact that, markets change and given the positive spark at the beginning of this year thus giving a brighter vision for future outlook of the upcoming fiscal investment years.