Business
Trump to visit Fed as pressure on Powell mounts
Getty ImagesDonald Trump is set to make the first visit by a sitting president to the US central bank in roughly two decades as his pressure on the Federal Reserve intensifies.
Trump will tour buildings undergoing a $2.5bn (£1.8bn) renovation, which the White House has accused Fed chairman Jerome Powell of mismanaging.
The attack is the latest in a drumbeat of criticism Trump has mounted against Powell, who Trump says is moving too slowly to cut interest rates.
He has repeatedly floated the possibility of firing Powell, only to quickly disavow the idea, which analysts say would rock financial markets and spark a legal battle.
Trump’s visit would mark only the fourth visit by a president to the Fed in recent history and the first since former president George W Bush attended the swearing-in of Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman in 2006.
It comes ahead of the Fed’s meeting in Washington next week, where policymakers are widely expected to vote to leave interest rates unchanged.
A spokesperson for the Fed said it was “working with the White House to accommodate their visit”.
Under US law, governors of the central bank can only be removed “for cause”, typically understood to be major misconduct.
The protection was intended to help insulate the bank from political pressure and ensure its leaders set policy in the best interests of the economy.
Legal experts have said cost overruns on the construction project would not typically meet that bar.
But White House officials and Trump allies have honed in on the issue, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt describing the renovation as “overpriced” and “completely unnecessary”.
Trump – who has alternately referred to Powell as a “numbskull”, “stubborn mule” and “Trump hater” – told reporters this month that he believed mismanagement of the plan was “sort of” a fireable offence.
“When you spend $2.5bn on, really, a renovation, I think it’s really disgraceful,” he said. He also that it was “highly unlikely” that he would fire Powell “unless he has to leave for fraud”.
This week, Leavitt told reporters that Trump has “no plans” to fire Powell, although he should “cut interest rates”.
Democrats have accused Trump of trying to use his attacks on Powell to “distract and deflect”, as he faces pressure from his support base over his handling of Jeffrey Epstein files.
They have also argued he is setting up Powell to be the scapegoat should the US economy weaken.
Getty ImagesTypically, the Fed lowers rates when the economy is in trouble, hoping that by making it easier to borrow it will boost economic activity and keep employment stable.
It raises interest rates when it is worried about inflation, aiming to slow activity and ease pressures pushing up prices.
Economists say Trump’s radical changes to economic policy, including higher tariffs, tax cuts, reductions in government spending and a crackdown on immigration, have raised risks of both scenarios, making it difficult to know what the bank should do.
Powell has said he believes the economy is stable enough for the Fed to wait to see what happens.
Trump has said the bank should be cutting interest rates to reduce the US government’s hefty borrowing costs and to make it easier for Americans to get mortgages and other loans.
He maintains that inflation, which rose to 2.7% in June, has faded as a problem.
Powell was appointed by Trump to lead the bank in 2017, and renominated by Joe Biden. His term as chairman is set to end in May 2026.
The renovation project under attack was first approved in 2017 and was intended to allow the bank to consolidate its operations.
It involves two buildings from the 1930s.
The Fed has blamed the cost overruns on issues such as finding more asbestos than expected, and disputed White House characterisations of other aspects of the project, such as whether it involves a “VIP elevator”.
Reporting contributed by Bernd Debusmann Jr
Business
VeriPark achieves the 2025-2026 Microsoft AI Business Solutions Inner Circle award – PA Media
DRUID AI, a Romanian-born technology company, today announced it has secured $31 million in Series C financing to advance the global expansion of its enterprise-ready agentic AI platform under the leadership of its new CEO Joseph Kim. The strategic investment, which will advance DRUID AI’s mission to empower companies to create, manage, and orchestrate conversational AI agents, was led by Cipio Partners, with participation from TQ Ventures, Karma Ventures, Smedvig, and Hoxton Ventures.
“This investment is both a testament to DRUID AI’s success and a catalyst to elevate businesses globally through the power of agentic AI,” said Kim. “Customer success is what it’s all about, and delivering real business outcomes requires understanding companies’ pain points and introducing innovations that help those customers address their complex challenges. That’s the DRUID AI way, and now we’re bringing it to the world through this new phase of global growth.”
Kim has more than two decades of operating executive experience in application, infrastructure, and security industries. Most recently, he was CEO of Sumo Logic. He serves on the boards of directors of SmartBear and Andela. In addition, he was a senior operating partner at private equity firm Francisco Partners, CPTO at Citrix, SolarWinds, and Hewlett Packard Enterprise, and chief architect at GE.
DRUID AI cofounder and Chief Operating Officer Andreea Plesea, who had been interim CEO, commented: “I am delighted Joseph is taking the reins as CEO to drive our next level of growth. His commitment to customer success and developing the exact solutions customers need is in total sync with the approach that has fueled our progress and positioned us to raise new funds. Joseph and the Series C set up DRUID AI and our clients for expanded innovation and impact.”
The appointment of Kim as CEO and the new funding come on the heels of DRUID AI earning a Challenger spot in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Conversational AI Platforms for 2025. This is just the latest development validating the maturity of DRUID AI’s platform and its readiness to deliver business results in a market that is experiencing rapid advancement and adoption.
In 2024, DRUID AI grew ARR 2.7x year-over-year. Its award-winning platform has powered more than 1 billion conversations across thousands of agents. In addition, the DRUID AI global partner ecosystem has attracted industry giants Microsoft, Genpact, Cognizant, and Accenture.
The founder of Druid AI, Liviu Dragan, had passed away unexpectedly in May 2025.
DRUID AI is trusted by more than 300 global clients across banking, financial services, government, healthcare, higher education, manufacturing, retail, and telecommunications. Leading organizations such as AXA Insurance, Carrefour, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Georgia Southern University, Kmart Australia, Liberty Global Group, MatrixCare, National Health Service, and Orange Auchan have adopted DRUID AI to redefine the way they operate.
Companies have embraced DRUID AI to help teams accelerate digital operations, reduce the complexity of day-to-day work, enhance user experience, and maximize technology ROI. Powered by advanced agentic AI and driven by the DRUID Conductor, its core orchestration engine, the DRUID platform enables businesses to effortlessly deploy AI agents and intelligent apps that streamline processes, integrate seamlessly with existing systems, and fulfill complex requests efficiently. DRUID AI’s end-to-end platform delivers 98% first response accuracy.
In their daily work, JsmeUspesni (Czech for “we are successful”) uses AI to optimize SEO, automate PPC campaigns, and create high-performing content for clients, no matter whether they are targeting individuals or businesses. One client grew from 10 to 340 daily website visitors thanks to AI, according to the digital marketing agency’s founder, Jan Vavřička. AI allows the delivery of smarter marketing strategies with real impact, leading to faster growth, better targeting, and lower costs.
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