Imagine being Jerome Powell this week. On Friday, August 22, the Federal Reserve chairman will step onto the stage at the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium — the most closely watched monetary retreat in the world — with markets, politicians, and even building contractors staring him down.
President Donald Trump is pressing him for interest-rate cuts. Congress is questioning Fed independence. Meanwhile, he’s weathering criticism about a costly renovation of the central bank’s D.C. headquarters. And hanging over it all: Trump and his allies are hyping a successor who pledges to keep cutting rates in 2026.
No pressure.
But while Powell juggles politics, markets, and Fed renovations, Jackson Hole itself offers a lens into why this remote Wyoming summit has become the epicenter of monetary policy debates — and why every word matters. From its origins and scenic setting to the historic moments that shaped global markets, here’s a closer look at the questions investors and economists keep asking.
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Why Wyoming And Not Kansas?
The summit began in 1978 as a Kansas City Fed conference on agriculture. In 1982, organizers moved it to Wyoming to entice Fed Chair Paul Volcker, an avid fly fisherman. Volcker came, and prestige followed. Ever since, Jackson Hole has been the place where central bankers float new ideas, away …