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Warsh Faces Credibility Test as Markets Wait for Jackson Hole Speech

Friday's remarks could determine whether investors regain confidence in the Fed's plan to bring inflation back to target by explaining how Warsh will use market signals for policy decisions.

Overview

  • Long-term U.S. Treasury yields have climbed to multi-decade highs, with the 30-year near 5.17% and the 10-year about 4.64%, increasing borrowing costs for mortgages, corporate debt and the federal government.
  • Inflation remains well above the Fed's 2% goal, with the PCE price index rising 3.7% year‑over‑year in July, a key reason three officials dissented at the July FOMC meeting and why markets worry the Fed may need to tighten further.
  • Warsh has moved away from traditional forward guidance and told markets to rely more on market signals, a shift that investors say has created confusion about the Fed's reaction function and hurt the central bank's credibility.
  • The U.S. Treasury doubled long‑dated buybacks to support liquidity and ease yields, a step officials say aims to calm markets but that also blurs lines between fiscal and monetary roles and may complicate the Fed's policy signal.
  • Markets currently price a greater chance the Fed will pause in September, with prediction markets showing roughly a two‑thirds probability, but traders say Warsh's Jackson Hole address on Aug. 28 could quickly change those odds and prompt repricing.