This article presents key figures for the financial market of 1988 indicating the paramount importance to the international investor of understanding the European markets. European countries clocked up the best and the worst performance in dollar terms while the differentials between the markets and currencies offer rich rewards to those who study them carefully. Sweden performed outstandingly, its index showing a 52.4 percent increase in dollar terms during 1988. This was due to a happy marriage between restrictions on foreign investment for domestic investors and the unfettered performance of Swedish blue chip stocks. Meanwhile, Switzerland, showing only 5.5 percent growth, is held behind the rest of Europe by underlying structural differences.