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The US Secretary of State met with Jordan's King and Deputy Prime Minister to discuss the situation in Gaza and Syria. On December 12, local time, the State Council issued a statement saying that US Secretary of State Blinken met with Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and Overseas Chinese Affairs Assafadi and Jordan's King Abdullah II in Aqaba that day, and discussed issues such as reaching a ceasefire agreement in Gaza, ensuring the release of all detainees, providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian civilians in all parts of Gaza and the situation in Syria. Blinken said that the United States supports the Syrian-led political transition. Blinken said that Syria must take all measures to protect civilians and promote the entry of humanitarian aid. Abdullah II reiterated that Jordan respects the choice of the Syrian people, but also stressed the importance of maintaining Syria's security and protecting its citizens. In addition, Abdullah II stressed that the first step to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire in the region is to stop Israeli attacks on Gaza. Abdullah II pointed out that achieving this goal requires immediate and serious international action. The meeting also discussed efforts to strengthen the humanitarian response to Gaza. Talking about the situation in the West Bank, Abdullah II warned the danger of Israel's unilateral actions and condemned Israel's continued attacks on Jerusalem and other places. He once again stressed that the "two-state solution" is the only way to achieve a just and comprehensive peace and the key to preventing the region from falling into more conflicts. (CCTV News)German 2-year bond yields rose by 1 basis point to 1.96%.European Central Bank President Lagarde: The European Central Bank did not discuss neutral interest rates this week. Many things will become clear in the next few months, not in the next few weeks.

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%.Central Economic Work Conference: Keep the RMB exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level. The Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing from December 11th to 12th. The meeting proposed to implement a moderately loose monetary policy. Give full play to the dual functions of the total amount and structure of monetary policy tools, reduce the RRR and interest rates in a timely manner, maintain sufficient liquidity, and match the scale of social financing and the growth of money supply with the expected goals of economic growth and overall price level. Keep the RMB exchange rate basically stable at a reasonable and balanced level. Explore and expand the macro-prudential and financial stability functions of the central bank, innovate financial instruments, and maintain the stability of the financial market.European Central Bank President Lagarde: The European Central Bank did not discuss neutral interest rates this week. Many things will become clear in the next few months, not in the next few weeks.

Central Economic Work Conference: Expanding high-level opening to the outside world and stabilizing foreign trade and foreign investment. The Central Economic Work Conference was held in Beijing on December 11th and 12th. The meeting proposed to expand independent opening and unilateral opening in an orderly manner, steadily expand institutional opening, promote the free trade pilot zone to improve quality and efficiency and expand the reform mandate, and accelerate the implementation of the core policy of Hainan Free Trade Port. Actively develop service trade, green trade and digital trade. Deepen the reform of foreign investment promotion system and mechanism. We will steadily open up the service industry, expand pilot projects in the fields of telecommunications, medical care and education, and continue to build the brand of "Invest in China". Promote high-quality joint construction of the "Belt and Road", deepen and improve the overseas comprehensive service system. (Xinhua News Agency)Australia plans to force technology giants to pay for news content. The Australian government announced a new tax plan on the 12th, which will force technology giants to pay for news content to Australian media companies, otherwise they will face the risk of being charged higher taxes. According to the Australian government's plan, all digital platforms with an annual income of more than A $250 million (about US$ 160 million) in Australia must reach a commercial agreement with Australian media organizations on the use of news content, otherwise they will face the risk of being charged higher taxes. (Xinhua News Agency)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.