Kevin Warsh’s Jackson Hole speech draws bond investors’ attention as Treasury yields hit multi-year highs

Kevin Warsh is about to give the most scrutinized speech in fixed income markets this year, and he hasn’t even written the final draft yet. The Federal Reserve Chair’s inaugural keynote at the 2026 Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium, scheduled for August 28 at 10 a.m. ET, has bond traders parsing every prior public comment for clues about where monetary policy goes next. Their anxiety is understandable. Inflation has remained above the Fed’s 2% target for more than five years running, 30-year Treasury yields have climbed to approximately 5.2%, and the Federal Open Market Committee just revealed the kind of internal disagreement that makes markets nervous. A divided Fed meets a stubborn inflation problem The July FOMC meeting minutes disclosed a 9-3 split vote, the widest division among policymakers in roughly two decades. That kind of fracture signals genuine uncertainty within the Fed about the right path forward. For bond investors, the split matters because it suggests the September FOMC meeting, which falls roughly 19 days after Warsh’s Jackson Hole address, could go in multiple directions. Warsh has tried to project resolve. He has signaled the Fed’s intention to remain un...