Charts of the Year 2018: our writers’ picksfastFT rounds up some of the biggest developments along with analysis from investors and strategists — in its annual Charts of the Year seriesCharts of the Year: US job openings outnumber the joblessIt’s the first time such a scenario has materialised in at least 17 yearsCharts of the Year: America loves SUVsUS auto sales stuck in reverse, but SUVs still driving consumers to showroomsCharts of the Year: retailers and semiconductors are most shorted sectors in EuropeFreeze Navidad: US stocks eye one of their worst Decembers on recordS&P 500, Dow Jones face biggest December drop since the Great DepressionCharts of the Year: US market volatility likely to persistInvestors no longer see market correction as a temporary dislocationCharts of the Year: Trade spat offers little for Asian factoriesAsia manufacturers to see limited benefit from US-China trade warMore from this SeriesCharts of the Year: the UK’s great migration debateAs EU migration to the UK dropped ahead of Brexit, the number of non-EU migrants climbedCharts of the Year: Diners say ‘no thanks’ to high street chainsShops and restaurants alike suffered a difficult year marked by site closuresCharts of the Year: Cash is kingUS dollars a ‘viable alternative’ to other assets next year amid rising tail risksCharts of the Year: RIP ‘buy the dip’?Investors show greater caution towards snapping up stocks following major fallsCharts of the Year: have Italy’s old demons returned?Widening spread with Germany’s 10-year yield gave analysts a strong sense of déjà vuCharts of the Year: China’s chip vulnerabilityChinese chipmakers’ reliance on foreign equipment has increasedCharts of the Year: annus horribilis for some British outsourcersCarillion collapse and troubles elsewhere thrust sector into spotlightCharts of the Year: US financial conditions have ‘tightened considerably’Rate of change has significant economic ramificationsCharts of the Year: The Santa rally is real . . . usuallyDecember is often the jolliest month of the year for the S&P 500Charts of the Year: Sterling transitions into EM territoryExpectations for volatility have surged above many developed and emerging market peers
