Anticipation has been building for Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell’s speech at the annual Jackson Hole summit, where central bankers could deliver a clearer signal on the path ahead for interest rates. Powell is expected to discuss the rate outlook, as well as the Fed’s new framework for meeting its inflation and labor objectives, when he gives the keynote address on Friday morning. His remarks will likely steer market expectations for Fed policy amid some emerging divisions inside the central bank. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman, one of two dissenting votes at the July meeting, supported a quarter-point rate cut in part to hedge against “further weakening in the economy and the risk of damage to the labor market,” according to minutes published by the Fed on Wednesday. Powell struck a hawkish note at a press conference following the meeting by emphasizing potential inflation risks.

There is a debate on both sides of the Fed’s dual mandate. Tariffs have yet to ignite widespread price pressures across consumer categories, but stubborn headline inflation could still convince policymakers to take a more gradual approach to easing borrowing costs. And while jobs growth has decelerated this year, the unemployment rate has held comparatively steady near its July level of 4.2%, according to Labor Department data. The Fed must also wade through uncertainty over the broader economy and its growth prospects. Volatility returned to US stocks this week with a rotation out of technology shares and into more defensive sectors such as real estate, S&P Global data showed on Wednesday.

The newest episode of The Outthinking Investor podcast featuring guest Barry Ritholtz brings lessons from Wall Street and the evolution of financial markets to help investors look beyond uncertainty and identify potential long-term opportunities.