The stakes are high as Kevin Warsh is set to give his first major speech as Fed Chair

Kevin Warsh is set to speak Friday at a gathering of economists and central bankers in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Warsh has promised to curb stubborn inflation, but has offered few details. Brendan Smialowski/AFP hide caption

Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh is set to deliver a keenly awaited speech on Friday at the annual gathering of economists and policymakers at Jackson Lake Lodge in Wyoming — and the stakes are as high as the surrounding Teton mountains.

Investors were disappointed last month when Warsh promised to curb stubborn inflation but offered no specifics about his strategy. Many are hoping for more clarity on Friday at a gathering that Fed chairs have traditionally used to reach a wider audience with their thoughts about the economy.

"I'd like to hear him be a bit more communicative," says Kathy Bostjancic, chief economist at Nationwide. "We're not talking forward guidance. Just some understanding of how he views the inflation dynamics right now."

Prices have been climbing significantly faster than the central bank would like — 3.7% in the 12 months ending in July, according to the Fed's preferred yardstick. That's down slightly from the 4.1% reading in May, but well above the Fed's 2% target.

After years of elevated inflation, Warsh has promised to bring prices under control. But investors are nervous about his reluctance to offer a roadmap. The Fed chairman, who took charge of the central bank in May, is deliberately vague, saying investors and businesses should watch what's happening in the economy, not in the policymaking corridors of Washington.

Some economists think it's likely that Warsh will stick with a high-altitude approach in Jackson Hole — his first address to the gathering as Fed chair — rather than offer a sea-level forecast of what we can expect from the central bank in the next few months.

"If I could, in the high mountain air in Jackson, Wyoming, I'd like to also frame the big questions," Warsh said last month, after he and his Fed colleagues voted to hold interest rates steady. "What's really happening with productivity? What's really happening with demographics? What's really happening to the global economy amid the shocks?"