Once January 1st hits everyone knows that the days ahead are likely to be long, dark and cold – welcome to Canadian winter. This year was no different. Mother Nature was not the only one to bring on an early winter depression particularly in the US: about 25% of US government employees started the year with no pay cheques since December 22nd and it was unclear when the government shutdown would end; the equity markets were at a 52-week low (though the S&P 500 was only down 4% for 2018, the sell-off in Q4 sounded alarm bells of a 2008 repeat); and trade wars between US/China continued to elevate while another battle with US vs. Europe was starting. Not to mention global growth fears, unresolved Brexit and Canada/China relations added to more uncertainty.