Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh addresses bond yields and inflation at Jackson Hole

The Federal Reserve has a credibility problem, and Kevin Warsh has about one hour on Friday to start fixing it. The new Fed Chair delivers his inaugural address at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium on August 28, with 30-year Treasury yields sitting above 5.2% and inflation that has refused to cooperate with the central bank’s 2% target for more than five consecutive years. What Warsh is walking into Warsh was sworn in as Fed Chair in May 2026, inheriting a monetary policy environment that looks nothing like the textbook. Long-term borrowing costs have surged to multi-decade highs, with 30-year yields breaching 5.2% in late July. The federal funds rate currently sits in a target range of 3.5% to 3.75%, a level the market increasingly views as insufficient to bring inflation to heel. Three FOMC officials dissented at the July 2026 meeting, voting in favor of a rate hike rather than the hold the committee ultimately delivered. Three dissenters is not a rounding error. It signals genuine internal disagreement about whether the Fed is moving fast enough. Markets noticed. The post-July-meeting reaction was pointed enough that Warsh’s perceived dovish messaging drew open criticis...