Central Economic Work Conference: Promoting new urbanization and overall rural revitalization, and promoting the integrated development of urban and rural areas. The Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from December 11th to 12th. The meeting pointed out that it is necessary to promote new urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization as a whole and promote the integrated development of urban and rural areas. Strictly observe the red line of cultivated land and strictly manage the balance of cultivated land occupation and compensation. We will ensure the stable production and supply of grain and important agricultural products, and improve the comprehensive benefits and competitiveness of agriculture. Protect the enthusiasm of grain farmers and major grain producing areas, and improve the grain price formation mechanism. According to local conditions, we will promote the integrated development of developing the industry, strengthening the county and enriching the people, and do everything possible to broaden the channels for farmers to increase their income. Develop a modern metropolitan area, improve the level of modern governance of megacities, and vigorously develop the county economy. (Xinhua News Agency)Apple's iOS 18.2 integrates ChatGPT or helps the future sales of iPhone 17. Citigroup maintains a "buy" rating. Citibank pointed out that the iOS 18.2 update released by Apple basically meets expectations and predicts that there will be more highlights in future updates. In the detailed analysis, Atif Malik, an analyst at Citigroup, said that some basic functions of Siri in the latest system version have been taken over by ChatGPT, but this did not affect his view on the phased introduction of Apple Intelligence functions. He thought that this strategy would not significantly change the difference between the update cycle of iPhone 16/17 and the previous cycle. Malik maintains a "Buy" rating on Apple and a target price of $255. For the future, Malik is optimistic about the update of iPhone 17, and predicts that Apple will achieve 227 million units, 246 million units and 253 million units in 2024, 2025 and 2026 respectively.NATO Secretary General Rutte: We will need to spend far more than 2% of GDP on national defense.
Analysis: The initial application data in the United States unexpectedly rose, and the number of initial jobless claims in the United States unexpectedly rose last week. The number of people receiving unemployment benefits continued to increase at the end of November compared with the beginning of the year, due to the cooling of labor demand. The US Department of Labor announced on Thursday that as of the week of December 7, the number of initial jobless claims increased by 17,000 to 242,000 after seasonal adjustment. Economists had expected that the number of initial jobless claims last week was only 220,000. The jump in initial jobless claims last week may reflect the fluctuation after the Thanksgiving holiday, but it may not mark a sudden change in the job market. The number of initial jobless claims may still fluctuate in the next few weeks, which may make it difficult to understand the job market clearly.Qualcomm appointed BAAZIZ ACHOUR as Chief Technology Officer.Spot gold fell by $5 in the short term and is now reported at $2,704 per ounce.
The dollar index DXY fell more than 20 points in the short term and is now reported at 106.58. Non-US currencies collectively rose, with GBP/USD of GBP rising by more than 20 points, EUR/USD of EUR/USD of EUR/USD rising by about 20 points and USD/JPY of USD/JPY rising by about 50 points.Royal Bank of Canada: The European Central Bank may move towards negative real interest rate. Royal Bank of Canada BlueBay Asset Management said that the European Central Bank may cut the interest rate below 2% next year, which the agency estimated to be a short-term neutral interest rate. Kaspar Hense, senior portfolio manager of the institution, said in a report that the core inflation rate is expected to be around 2.5% in the first half of 2025, which means that the real interest rate will be negative. He said that under the influence of unfavorable factors such as trade, continuous competitive pressure from other countries and financial problems, this should play a moderate supporting role in the economy.NATO Secretary General Rutte: We will need to spend far more than 2% of GDP on national defense.