Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh made his much-anticipated debut at the Kansas City Fed’s annual Jackson Hole symposium on Friday, and while his opening remarks about ‘hiking’ turned out to be literal—he described trekking the Tetons with former Vice Chair Don Kohn as ‘steely marathon death marches’—the substance of his speech was anything but a walk in the park for monetary doves.
According to the Breitbart Business Digest, Warsh used the word ‘hike’ three times in the first three paragraphs of his address, leading some to wonder if he had abandoned his campaign against forward guidance. He hadn’t. The hiking he referred to was actual mountain hiking, but the hawkish undertones were unmistakable.
A Strong Economy, But Inflation ‘Troubling’
Warsh described the U.S. economy in terms that will be familiar to regular readers of the Breitbart Business Digest. Business capital expenditures are booming, consumer spending is expanding at a healthy pace, and the nation is at full employment. All the borrowing to fund the AI buildout, he suggested, indicates that monetary policy is not particularly restrictive at present.
Inflation, however, is a different story. Warsh called it ‘troubling,’ noting that it remains too high and is not making progress toward the Fed’s two percent target with any ‘haste or hustle.’ He added a pointed warning for those hoping inflation will simply fade on its own: it is not ‘mean reverting.’ If it is going to come down, Warsh argued, it will need the Fed’s hand pushing it down.
For the Breitbart Business Digest, that was all that was needed to forecast that the Fed will likely raise rates later this year. The publication cautioned that this does not mean a ‘steely marathon death march’ cycle of continuous hikes, but rather that rates are headed higher over the next couple of meetings.
Trump’s Renaming Spree Continues
In a separate development this week, President Donald Trump continued his campaign of renaming geographic features, this time turning his attention to Lake Ontario. According to the Breitbart Business Digest, the move came after trade talks with Canada fell apart. The publication noted that Trump previously renamed the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, and now Lake Ontario has become Lake America.
The Breitbart Business Digest offered a humorous take on the decision, wondering why Lake Ontario was singled out rather than, say, Lake Erie or Lake Huron—or even Lake Superior, which was named by the French. The speculation was that the entire Canadian province of Ontario might have been the source of the confusion, and President Trump simply got tired of it.
The publication characterized the renaming spree as ‘a fun and somewhat harmless new form of foreign policy,’ suggesting that if a country crosses the United States, the response might be to rename an adjacent body of water. It even jokingly suggested that the Strait of Hormuz might soon be called the ‘Strait of Karoline,’ after former White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Consumer Sentiment Drops Among Republicans
Economic sentiment took a hit in August, particularly among Republicans, according to data from the University of Michigan. The sentiment gauge fell from 88 to 82 among Republicans, with smaller declines among Independents and Democrats. The Conference Board reported a similar pattern earlier in the week.
The Breitbart Business Digest speculated that the decline among Republicans is tied to the looming midterm elections. Polls suggest that the odds of Republicans retaining control of both the House and Senate are quite low. With early voting set to begin soon, many voters may have already made up their minds. Democratic control of even one chamber would likely lead to endless investigations, impeachment campaigns, and a halt to President Trump’s economic agenda, which might explain why Republicans are feeling pessimistic about the economy.
Remembering the Hotline
Looking ahead, the Breitbart Business Digest also noted an upcoming anniversary: on August 30, 1963, the direct hotline between the White House and the Kremlin was established, less than a year after the Cuban Missile Crisis. The link was designed to reduce the risk that delay or misunderstanding could turn a confrontation into catastrophe.
As the publication noted, the phone is likely still there, and it joked that inquiries about whether it had been upgraded to accept text messages had not been returned at press time.
Source: www.breitbart.com — https://www.breitbart.com/economy/2026/08/28/breitbart-business-digest-warsh-goes-hiking/