The annual speech by the Federal Reserve Chairman at the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole summit has become something of a “State of the Union” for the American economy. Today, Kevin Warsh will give his first address as the Chairman. CNBC’s Jeff Cox reports:
The Federal Reserve’s cryptic chairman is set to deliver his much-awaited keynote address Friday in Jackson Hole, with markets trying to anticipate what, if anything, he will have to say on key matters affecting the economy and monetary policy.
Kevin Warsh will speak during the Fed’s annual symposium in Wyoming, an event this year that is titled “Financial Innovation: Implications for Payments and Policy.”
Prior Fed chairs have used the speech as an opportunity to discuss broad frameworks and intentions on where they see policy and interest rates headed, beyond the main focus of the conference.
But given his approach so far since taking the reins in May, a time during which Warsh has placed a far greater emphasis on market direction than cues from the Fed, it’s hard to know what to expect.
It seems unlikely that Warsh will give any hint of future policy moves, as he prefers the market to price bonds based on fundamentals, rather than as a guessing game of future Fed activity.
Action Line: Your Survival Guy isn’t in the interest rate prediction business, and you shouldn’t be either. Perhaps the most important sign to watch for in Warsh’s speech is how he plans to move forward to achieve his goals of reducing the Fed’s involvement in the economy. Click here to subscribe to my free monthly Survive & Thrive letter.
