
Lagarde to step down on February 7 amid economic volatility and upcoming French elections.
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde has announced her resignation, effective February 7, citing a desire to engage in political matters in France and globally during a period of economic volatility.
AI-generated summary
Lagarde is stepping down to focus on political matters in France and globally. The ECB is currently managing inflation risks linked to an oil shock and rising bond yields.
European Central Bank president Christine Lagarde resigned on Thursday, ending months of speculation about her future just as Europe enters a period of rising economic volatility and divisive electoral politics, particularly in her native France.
Lagarde will step down on February 7, giving current European Union leaders time to pick her successor before a French presidential election that polls show far-right candidate Marine Le Pen is favoured to win.
The move comes as the ECB battles inflation risks from an Iran war-driven oil shock while a sharp rise in bond yields, especially in France, threatens to dampen growth.
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
Lagarde will step down on February 7.
Very likely · Within months
According to CCTV, my country’s railway freight volume has grown steadily in the first three quarters of this year, with a total of 3.05 billion tons of goods sent. Through diversified logistics products such as China-Laos railway cold chain trains and high-speed rail express, railway transportation efficiency has been significantly improved, effectively serving regional economic development and domestic and foreign trade transportation needs.

Since 2026, China's consumer goods trade-in policy has driven sales to more than 2 trillion yuan, benefiting 250 million people. Through unified national subsidies and local expansion, this policy reduces residents’ replacement costs, promotes the popularization of green smart products, and builds an industrial closed loop from sales to recycling to continuously release the vitality of domestic demand.

Guangzhou Port Nansha Port Phase IV Terminal officially opened for foreign trade business on October 29. As the first newly constructed fully automated terminal in the Greater Bay Area, it is expected to have an additional foreign trade container throughput of more than 1 million TEUs per year after its full operation, which will effectively reduce logistics costs and improve the resilience of the regional supply chain.

On October 29, the 4th Power Battery Quality and Safety Conference was held in Linwu County, Chenzhou, Hunan. The conference released a high-quality development report for the industry, analyzed the advantages and structural contradictions of industrial scale, and promoted the closed-loop development model of the entire industry chain of "lithium mines-materials-batteries-terminals-recycling" in Linwu County.

According to data released by the Shanghai headquarters of the People's Bank of China, Shanghai's social financing scale increased by 969.3 billion yuan in the first three quarters of 2026, and the proportion of direct financing increased. The credit structure continues to be optimized, loans in the fields of technological innovation and private economy have grown significantly, and corporate financing costs are at historically low levels.
The fourth phase of the Guangzhou Port Nansha Port Area officially launched foreign trade ship operations on October 29, marking the first newly built fully automated terminal in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area with foreign trade service capabilities. The port area’s foreign trade container throughput increased by 19% year-on-year from January to September this year, and 220 container liner routes have been opened.