Wu said that the latest Federal Reserve Beige Book shows that economic activity across the Federal Reserve districts is generally growing slightly to moderately, with 8 districts expanding, 2 remaining essentially flat, and 2 experiencing slight declines; uncertainties from the Middle East conflict are constraining corporate hiring, pricing, and capital expenditure decisions. Overall employment remains stable, with hiring mainly to fill vacancies, and companies favoring temporary or contract workers; AI has limited impact on overall employment but increases productivity in some scenarios and suppresses new hiring demand, with wages maintaining moderate growth. In terms of prices, overall inflation remains moderate.