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European Central Bank President Lagarde: The inflation problem has not yet been completed. European Central Bank President Lagarde said that the inflation problem has not yet been completed and the anti-inflation task has not yet ended, but inflation is moving towards the goal.Iraqi security forces destroyed eight extremist strongholds in northern Iraq. On December 12, local time, the Iraqi Joint Operations Command issued a statement saying that Iraqi security forces are continuing to track and crack down on members of the extremist organization "Islamic State" in the country. Recently, in the hamlin Mountains in Kirkuk province, Iraqi security forces destroyed eight extremist strongholds, including personnel hiding places and weapons storage facilities. (CCTV News)European members of NATO are considering increasing the proportion of military expenditure. On the 12th, several European officials reported that some European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization are considering increasing the proportion of national defense expenditure in their gross domestic product (GDP), from the current 2% to 3%.

European Central Bank President Lagarde: Since July 2023, the flexibility of the Emergency Anti-epidemic Bond Purchase Program (PEPP) has not been used, and the transmission protection tool (TPI) has not been discussed.European Central Bank President Lagarde: Domestic inflation remains high. Inflation will fluctuate around the current level in the short term. Domestic inflation reflects the influence of wage pressure and service industry.Central Economic Work Conference: Implementing the Medical and Health Foundation Project and Formulating the Policy of Promoting Birth, which was held in Beijing from December 11th to 12th. The meeting proposed to implement employment support plans for key areas, key industries, urban and rural grassroots and small and medium-sized enterprises to promote the employment of key groups. Strengthen the protection of workers' rights and interests in flexible employment and new employment forms. We will implement policies to help industries and employment, ensure that large-scale return to poverty does not occur, and ensure the basic livelihood of people in need. Promote the high-quality and balanced development of compulsory education and solidly promote the expansion of high-quality undergraduate courses. Implement the medical and health foundation project and formulate policies to promote fertility. Develop community-supported home-based care for the aged and expand inclusive care for the aged. Adhere to and develop the "Fengqiao experience" in the new era and strengthen the public security system. (Xinhua News Agency)

Wang Jing, National Endowment Insurance: Opening the market for individual pensions nationwide will usher in a period of historic policy opportunities, and the five departments jointly issued the Notice on the Full Implementation of the Individual Pension System. Wang Jing, head of the market channel department of the national pension insurance, said that after the individual pension is pushed nationwide, it is expected that the market will usher in a historic period of policy opportunities. All kinds of financial institutions will build differentiated and diversified product systems around people's diversified life-cycle pension financial needs, and provide comprehensive services with characteristics and quality, especially for flexible employees and new employment forms, which will further stimulate the whole society's active awareness of pension, accumulate pension financial funds and effectively promote the development of the real economy. (Securities Society)The European Central Bank predicts that inflation will decline in 2025, and the European Central Bank currently predicts that inflation will cool down slightly faster than predicted in September. The bank's latest forecast shows that the average inflation rate in 2024 and 2025 is 2.4% and 2.1% respectively, while the previous forecast is 2.5% and 2.2% respectively. After cutting interest rates by 25 basis points, the European Central Bank said in a statement: "The anti-inflation process is on the right track." The bank said: "Domestic inflation has declined slightly, but it is still at a high level, mainly because wages and prices in some industries are still adapting to the past inflation surge, but there is a great delay." The European Central Bank maintains its inflation forecast of 1.9% in 2026, and predicts that the average inflation rate in 2027 will be 2.1%.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.