My base case remains the same: a September rate hike is very unlikely.
Warsh’s message was hawkish, but I read it as resistance to premature cuts, not preparation for another hike.
What may happen before September is more important for traders: fear gets priced before policy does.
If the market starts pushing the “Fed may hike again” narrative, expect volatility, forced selling and weaker hands getting shaken out. That is often when large investors get the chance to build positions at better prices.
So I would be careful about reacting emotionally to every selloff.
Wall Street wants liquidity. Retail panic provides it.
If your thesis has not changed, don’t hand over good positions just because the headlines got louder.
My read on Warsh is simpler:
This was more signaling than policy.
A rate hike still looks very unlikely. The real message was probably aimed as much at Trump and Washington as at markets: inflation is still too high to justify cutting rates aggressively right now.
So I wouldn’t read Jackson Hole as “the Fed is preparing to hike.”
I’d read it as:
Don’t pressure us to cut yet. Give inflation more time to cool.
Warsh needed to sound hawkish without actually committing to tighter policy.
That distinction matters.