Article preview: In our latest monthly investment update for January 2019, we look at how the investment markets, global economy and commodity prices are performing. The FTSE 100 index of leading UK company shares continued its downward trend throughout December. It finished the month at 6,728.13 points, down from 6,970.78 points at the end of November. This represents a decrease of 242.65 points or 3.48% during the month. The London index finished down 12% for the year marking the end of a turbulent year for global investment markets. European and Asian stock markets faced similar losses in 2018, while the main US indices saw their worst performance since the 2008 financial crisis. The Bank of England cut its UK economic growth forecast for the final quarter of 2018 from 0.3% to 0.2%. The Bank said that uncertainty over the UK’s departure from the EU had “intensified considerably” over the past month and the lack of Brexit clarity is negatively affecting the economy.