Melania Trump rang the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday to promote her new initiative to help women become leaders and achieve economic power.

It’s called Imperia, and its members include CEOs, founders, innovators, entrepreneurs and others.

A lot of the first lady’s attention has been on children, but, with Imperia, she is leaning on her business skills to encourage women to harness their economic power and help others understand women’s role in a global economy.

“For generations, women fought for a seat at the table,” she told a meeting of the group. “The next chapter is about owning, growing and making space for the women who come next.”

She said that means owning businesses, equity, real estate, capital and investment assets, along with “our ideas, our intellectual property and our economic future.”

“People still do not fully understand the full scale of women’s power in the global economy,” she continued. “Women are not just part of the marketplace, simple participants. We are its foundation, and we are its infrastructure.”
In a rare television interview earlier Wednesday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends” to promote Imperia, the first lady addressed several other subjects, including this week’s state visit of Chinese President Xi Jinping, her efforts to reunite children separated from their families by Russia’s war against Ukraine, her new docuseries and the extent of her public engagements.Some recent news reports have said the first lady is appearing in public less often than during President Donald Trump’s first term.

Melania Trump said the difference is that she is more focused on getting results.

“You don’t see me everywhere, but behind the scenes I’m working nonstop,” she said, citing as an example the preparations for her events in New York this week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly and for Xi’s visit. “I’m working on so many projects … in the future. So stay tuned.”

She was deeply involved in the planning for Xi’s visit in her role as first lady. She said her husband decided to personally greet China’s leader after his plane lands because of their “great relationship.” President Trump typically greets leaders at the White House.

As of July, Melania Trump had helped reunite five groups of Ukrainian and Russian children with their families, work that underscores the more global approach she has taken during the Republican president’s second term. She said that she has a “direct channel” with leaders from the warring countries and that her team is working on another reunification.

“This is ongoing, and we want to reunite as many children as possible,” the first lady said. “And that’s my focus as well. What they’re going through, it’s heartbreaking. And it’s nothing better to see than a child reunite with the parents, right?”

The first lady also rang the opening bell at the NYSE in January before the release of her Amazon documentary, “Melania,” about her life in the weeks leading up to Donald Trump’s inauguration for a second term in office. A new two-part docuseries featuring her will be released in the fall. She said it will be different from the documentary and teased that it will include some surprises.

“It’s more conversation, one on one with me,” the first lady said. “So when I was traveling and doing all of the filming, the director was asking me questions, and there are some private questions that I will answer that people never heard before. So it’s kind of exciting.

Albert Pujols is embracing baseball’s technology-driven changes, arguing that a new way to challenge ball-and-strike calls could give players another chance when a game is on the line.

The former MLB All-Star joined FOX Business’ Stuart Varney on “Varney & Co.” to discuss the Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System, which allows batters, pitchers and catchers to contest ball-and-strike calls, and how changes to the game could benefit fans.

The system gives batters, pitchers and catchers a way to challenge an umpire’s ball-or-strike call rather than leaving a potentially pivotal decision unchanged. For Pujols, who finished his career with 703 home runs, its appeal is especially clear in the final moments of a close game.

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“I love it,” Pujols said, “I didn’t play… My career with it but now covering in baseball and watching some of the guys taking a chance and opportunity what I love the most is that there might be a chance in the bottom of the ninth and they might call strike on you… And you might get a chance to come back… And probably win so it’s a second opportunity.”

Pujols acknowledged that challenges can put umpires in a difficult position, but he connected the latest change to baseball’s broader push to improve the pace of play. He pointed to the pitch clock as another adjustment that initially drew questions but has helped shorten games.

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“We put the umpires in a tough situation… But this is where we are in baseball right now,” he said. Later, discussing the changes and their effect on spectators, he added, “This is great for baseball.”

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As U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence (AI) and the semiconductor industry remains a central economic and national security issue, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) Chair and CEO Lisa Su said she will attend President Donald Trump’s state dinner for Chinese President Xi Jinping.

“I’m honored to say that I will be at the dinner tomorrow night,” Su told FOX Business’ Liz Claman in a fireside chat on Wednesday during a trip to the New York Stock Exchange celebrating women in business. “It is an honor… to be there.”

“This summit between the presidents, President Xi and President Trump, is very impactful, very important. I think technology is one of those areas where we rely on the global ecosystem to come together. So, yes, I think we’re anxiously looking at what will come out of it. And the truth is, we want to ensure that there’s good stability across the global ecosystem as it relates to technology.”

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Su will join other prominent American tech leaders, including Tesla CEO Elon Musk, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Apple’s Tim Cook. The tech leaders’ anticipated attendance at the Trump-Xi state dinner comes at a time of geopolitical tensions, including over the development of AI and access to both models and the chips that power them.

The U.S. and China are competing to develop increasingly capable AI tools, a source of tension between the two countries. China’s access to specialized chips that power advanced AI models has been restricted through U.S. export controls on advanced semiconductors, including those made by Nvidia.

President Trump recently described AI as potentially the greatest industrial revolution in history. As demand for compute capability grows, leaders in the industry face a dual responsibility to expand U.S. technology while establishing technical safeguards.

“I am an AI optimist,” Su said. “You know, I will say that for sure… And I’m not, you know, just saying this because I’m a technology person. In terms of power, of technology and what I’ve seen over my career over the last 30 plus years, it is the most powerful technology I’ve ever seen.”

“The world is going to be very ambitious with AI. The world should be very ambitious with AI. And I think we as technology companies and we as the American U.S. ecosystem must continue to be very aggressive while also ensuring that everybody comes together and realizes that we must build trust in AI,” she continued. “It is absolutely non-negotiable that we must build trust in AI.”

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A red carpet rollout is planned for when Xi and his wife, Peng Liyuan, arrive at Joint Base Andrews on Wednesday evening, replete with an arrival ceremony for the man who has found himself at odds with Trump on issues ranging from artificial intelligence and intellectual property theft, trade practices, rare-earth minerals to the communist country’s support for Iran during America’s military conflict there. Xi hasn’t visited the nation’s capital in more than a decade.

AI will be a major topic of discussion during the two-day summit, which officially begins Thursday morning and ends Friday evening, according to a senior administration official.

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FOX Business’ Eric Revell and Fox News’ Peter D’Abrosca and Ashley J. DiMella contributed to this report.

Ulla Paajanen

Good afternoon to our guests here in the room and to everyone joining us online. My name is Ulla Paajanen, and I will be responsible for WISA’s Investor Relations. A warm welcome to WISA’s first Capital Markets Day hosted here at UPM Biofore House.

I would also like to remind you of our clear disclaimer since we might be making forward-looking statements. And before we begin, let me briefly get — go through some important safety information regarding the premises. Safety is a top priority for WISA. Therefore I would like to remind everyone here that in the event of evacuation, please leave all personal belongings behind and proceed outside as quickly and safely as possible. Our designated meeting point is located directly in front of the Biofore House.

Your today’s presenters are Chair of the Board, Tapio Korpeinen, whose distinguished career spans leadership position as a CFO and business area Executive at UPM. Joining him is President and CEO, Tuija Suur-Hamari, a highly respected leader with extensive experience across the forest industry, particularly in materials-based and industrial businesses. Completing the team is Chief Financial Officer, Lasse von Hertzen, who brings a unique combination of capital markets expertise from investment banking and deep financial leadership experience from UPM.

Let us now turn to today’s agenda. As you can see, Tapio will begin by sharing why UPM believes WISA is well positioned to create greater value as

McDonald’s on Wednesday announced new details as part of its long-term growth strategy, which will include a focus on upgrading restaurants and staff training, at an investor day at the corporate headquarters in Chicago.

The fast-food giant announced its NEXT growth and productivity strategy in June and outlined plans to implement changes throughout its system.

McDonald’s said that to speed up the modernization of restaurants, deployment of technology and other operational improvements, it plans to provide about $8.5 billion in NEXT partnering support for franchisees through 2036, with roughly $5 billion provided through 2030. 

The NEXT support for franchisees will include a combination of capital support and rent relief.

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The support comes with a target of about 250 basis points of gross restaurant-level efficiency improvements amounting to about $100,000 in annual cash flow benefits for the average restaurant, with the company saying the majority of that would benefit the restaurant’s bottom line over time.

McDonald’s announcement noted that the restaurant component of the plan aims to boost growth and productivity through simplified operations, elevated execution, modernized restaurant design and deploying generative AI-enabled ArchIQ at scale.

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The company also announced a multiyear training program called “Make it Golden” that will begin on Founder’s Day, Oct. 5, which aims to improve customer service to create more consistency for patrons and increase repeat visits.

“McDonald’s has the unmatched scale, customer insights, brand loyalty, and operational capabilities to not only adapt to the next wave of change in our industry, but to turn it into an advantage,” said McDonald’s CEO Chris Kempczinski. “That’s what McDonald’s > NEXT is about: to be the first choice for more customers, more often – while making our restaurants stronger and easier to run.” 

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Ticker	Security	Last	Change	Change %
MCD	MCDONALD’S CORP.	236.78	-13.59	-5.43%

“We are confident that executing across the key components of NEXT will unlock stronger restaurant economics, generate attractive returns for the Company, our franchisees and shareholders, and increase capacity to keep investing in growth,” Kempczinski added.

McDonald’s announcement also included new market share targets, calling for 1.5 percentage points of growth in both chicken and beverages by 2030, while also maintaining the company’s leadership in beef market share.

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Sales growth from unit expansion is also targeted to contribute nearly 2.5% to system-wide sales growth in 2027, moderating to about 2% by 2030.

The UK economy will grow by 1.1 per cent this year, according to new forecasts from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), up from the 0.9 per cent it projected in June.

The Paris-based organisation said in its interim outlook, published today, that output had held up better than expected in the face of the US-Iran war. It pointed to “solid domestic demand growth in the second quarter” of the year.

The OECD said household spending could get a further boost from government measures to cut taxes on energy bills and cap bus fares.

The 1.1 per cent estimate is the joint second highest in the G7, behind the United States on 2.2 per cent and level with Germany, which has begun to recover from three years of industrial stagnation.

Slower growth and lower inflation

The OECD expects UK growth to slow to 1 per cent in 2027, down from the 1.1 per cent it forecast in June. When it last published forecasts, the organisation had cut its UK growth projection to below 1 per cent for this year.

It also lowered its inflation projection for this year from an average of 3.7 per cent to 3.1 per cent. For next year it expects inflation of 2.6 per cent, higher than the 2.4 per cent it forecast in the summer.

UK GDP figures and measures of private sector activity and household sentiment have improved in recent months, despite global oil prices rising to between $90 and $100 a barrel since August. Economists have warned that higher oil and gas prices will add to inflation and cost-of-living pressures, and that spending and activity are likely to be squeezed during the winter months.

The OECD said British consumers were among those “dedicating a higher proportion of their spending towards fuel, amid very rapid growth in gasoline and diesel prices since the onset of the conflict”.

Emma Reynolds, chief secretary to the Treasury, said: “Despite unprecedented pressures and conflict in both the Middle East and in Europe, the UK economy is showing strong resilience. We had the fastest growth in the G7 in the first half of the year and we are starting the big, long-term changes needed to create good jobs and growth in every postcode.”

The OECD said it expects no change this year to UK interest rates, which stand at 3.75 per cent.

Last week the Bank of England held Bank Rate at 3.75 per cent and warned it could tighten policy for the first time in three years before the end of 2026, should consumer prices breach 4 per cent. Governor Andrew Bailey said a rate rise was likely if the Iran war went on. Annual inflation is currently running at 3.1 per cent.

The OECD said the picture for the UK and world economy was “heavily dependent on whether a durable resolution to the Middle East conflict is achieved”.

“Energy prices have recently risen again amidst intensified disruptions to production and exports in the Gulf economies. Elevated refining margins due to production bottlenecks are placing additional upward pressure on consumer prices and business costs. Prices for some agricultural commodities have also risen markedly in recent months, partly due to the impact of extreme weather on supply,” the interim report said.

The organisation raised its global growth projection from 2.8 per cent to 2.9 per cent. It said “sizeable oil inventories, additional supply from outside the Gulf economies and discretionary government support measures all helped to cushion the impact on the global economy”.

Its biggest downgrade was to Canada, where projected growth fell from 1.2 per cent to 0.9 per cent after the US imposed new tariffs on its neighbour.

France was also downgraded, to 0.4 per cent, the lowest in the G7. The OECD’s forecast comes as the EU’s second-largest economy faces pressure to reduce its rising budget deficit before presidential elections next year.

Federal Reserve Governor Michael Barr said on Wednesday that the central bank took an important step last week to “recalibrate” short-term borrowing costs in its effort to bring down inflation, and signalled that further rate hikes are likely needed, Reuters reported.

“Risks to achieving our inflation target have increased, while risks to the labour market have receded,” Barr said in prepared remarks for a Chicago Fed housing affordability conference.

He noted that US economic growth remains strong and the labour market solid, but inflation is still above the Fed’s 2% goal and not clearly headed lower. “In my base case, further policy adjustments are likely needed to ensure inflation comes down to target in a timely fashion,” he said.

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In a unanimous decision last week, Fed policymakers raised the central bank’s policy rate to a range of 3.75%-4.00%. Sixteen of 18 officials signalled that at least one more hike would likely be needed before year-end, according to a Reuters report.

Barr’s remarks suggest he sees the case for at least two further increases, though he did not specify a timeline.
His willingness to be specific about the rate path stands in contrast to Fed Chairman Kevin Warsh, who has declined to offer any forward guidance on the matter.”In my view, given changes to the economy, we were out of position, and we made an adjustment in the right direction,” Barr added, referring to last week’s quarter-point hike. “We want to support sustainable, durable growth in support of maximum employment, and price stability is crucial to that.”

Barr’s comments on monetary policy were brief, with most of his speech devoted to housing affordability, a problem he said has been compounded by a shortage of supply and elevated mortgage rates. The average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in the US rose to 7.12% last week, its highest level in more than two years, the Mortgage Bankers Association said on Wednesday.

(Disclaimer: This article is based on inputs from agencies. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)