On the last full trading day before the Christmas holidays, US stocks are expected to close flat, despite a relatively dense day of data releases. Yardeni Research, an independent investment research firm founded by Wall Street veteran and senior strategist Ed Yardeni, has just raised its target price for gold next year. The firm stated, "At the beginning of this year, when gold prices broke through $3,000 per ounce, we predicted it would reach $4,000 by the end of the year and $5,000 by the end of next year. With gold prices breaking through $4,500, we have raised our target for the end of 2026 to $6,000, and still expect gold prices to reach $10,000 by the end of this year (end of 2029)." (Jinshi)