NASHVILLE, Tenn.—The market is up. The market is down. Optimism one day is followed by pessimism the next. But Trish Regan of Fox Business Network makes one thing crystal clear.

"You do not bet against the United States of America, because we will succeed," Regan told the National Rural Utilities Cooperative Finance Corporation (CFC) 2018 Annual Meeting.

"Our people are what will make us succeed," the host of "The Intelligence Report with Trish Regan" said in her Feb. 26 remarks.

Regan acknowledged that the nation has challenges to overcome.

"What are the jobs of the future? What are people going to do? What is the next opportunity here-how do we stay being the land of opportunity?" she asked.

"We need jobs. We need wage growth. We need economic growth."

Regan also warned of the "hourglass economy," which she described as having "a lot on top, very few in the middle, and a lot on the bottom."

"Over the last couple of decades, that little in the middle just keeps getting smaller and smaller and smaller," said Regan.

"Increasingly, a lot of that middle class was falling down into the bottom of the hourglass."

And looking abroad, Regan acknowledged the North Korean problem, but said the U.S. has "the kind of economic power we need and should be able to use with China," to get Beijing to intervene.

"If we were to get really serious about trade with China that would not be good for China," she added.

While it all can seem daunting, Regan stressed optimism.

"We always do emerge from these challenges in a much better way," she said.

"We are resilient. We are creative. We are smart. And we have a work ethic—a work ethic this country was founded on—that is unbridled. And as long as we can keep that going, the sky is the limit."