Risky assets once again suffered a sharp correction in December. This was due mainly to the slowdown in Chinese growth, manifested by a sharp drop in oil prices. The threat of an end to the US cycle, as well as a hardening in the US trade war with China also played a major role. Turning to monetary policy, while the Fed's rate hike — from 2.00% to 2.25% — was anticipated, the downgrade in the growth and inflation outlook for next year eroded investor confidence.In Europe, signals were mixed. While an agreement seems to be emerging on the Italian budget's deficit level, at -2.04%, prompting some easing on Italian rates, the slowdown in growth seen in Germany and France impacted the market for risky assets. With the French budget deficit expected to drift to around -3.5%, and with German manufacturing indicators in decline, the European growth outlook is deteriorating. In the United Kingdom, the Parliamentary vote on the deal between the EU and Theresa May's Government seemed to be in jeopardy. As a result, growth forecasts and the Bank of England's reaction remained uncertain.At the ECB, Mario Draghi reiterated his willingness to turn the page on QE while maintaining an accommodative tone on monetary policy, in order to avoid jeopardizing the still fragile economic recovery. Real interest rates are therefore likely to remain negative.The decline in risky assets resulted in a marked widening of credit spreads. As a result, the High Yield segment posted negative performances (-0.41% in Europe and -2.2% in the US), while Investment Grade benefited from its greater sensitivity to interest rates, enabling it to close the month slightly higher (+0.2%). These movements took place in a climate of very limited liquidity as the year end approached, which accelerated the downtrend.