During 2018 we witnessed a stronger divergence of behavior between the United States and the rest of the countries. The US stock market registers a revaluation close to two digits, while other markets such as emerging countries or Europe, are in negative positions. Why is United States stronger than the rest of the world? In the first place, it seems that the current tariff war is affecting the United States less than the other countries involved, it must be remembered that the US trade balance is very negative, which means that it exports much less than what it imports from other countries. Additionally, this commercial war is exerting a strong downward pressure on the price of many commodities, and this has a negative impact, especially in emerging markets. Another factor that could be harming the behavior of both Europe and emerging markets, are the political tensions that we have experienced throughout the year in countries such as Spain, Italy, United Kingdom, Mexico, Turkey or Venezuela. The financial problems of Argentina, which has recently been forced to ask for help from the International Monetary Fund, also do not help the investors' calm. And these are the main factors that could explain the relative bad behavior that both Europe and the emerging markets are facing compared to the US so far this year. You can see our monthly news column on BBVA's youtube channel