Bloomberg Surveillance TV: August 28th, 2026

**SPEAKER_1** (0:02)
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, Radio, News.

**Jonathan Ferro** (0:11)
This is the Bloomberg Surveillance Podcast. I'm Jonathan Ferro, along with Lisa Abramowitz and Annmarie Hordern. Join us each day for insight from the best in markets, economics and geopolitics. From our global headquarters in New York City, we are live on Bloomberg Television weekday mornings from 6 to 9 AM Eastern. Subscribe to the podcast on Apple, Spotify or anywhere else you listen. And as always on the Bloomberg Terminal and the Bloomberg Business App.
So here's the latest this morning. Markets bracing for remarks from Fed Chair Kevin Walsh at Jackson Hole later this morning. Wall Street looking for clarity on plans to bring inflation back to target. Claudia Sahm of New Century Advisors writing, We have a clear sense of what Walsh doesn't like of the Fed, but very little sense of what he's proposing as a replacement. His Jackson Hole speech is an opportunity to bring depth to his vision. Claudia joins us now for more. Claudia, welcome to the program. How hopeful are you heading into this speech later this morning?

**Claudia Sahm** (1:05)
So I am confident that I am going to learn more today about Kevin Walsh as a leader, as a Fed chair. I may not like what I learn, but this is an opportunity for us to really understand his vision for the Fed. We don't know leaders until they have been tested. What came out of the July press conference was a test. I wouldn't call it a really tough one, right?
But this is his opportunity to respond, and it will be very meaningful to see how he approaches today and what he shares with us about his vision and how he's going to get it from A to B in terms of better Fed, lower inflation, better policy.

**Jonathan Ferro** (1:39)
Claudia, it's a big job. You know that. And even the most experienced make mistakes along the way. And we've seen that in various Fed officials and central bank leaders all around the world. What kind of mistakes do you think he made specifically in that news conference that you think maybe this man would look to repair?

**Claudia Sahm** (1:54)
Well, I wouldn't want to judge. He is a new Fed chair. He's out of the gate. I think at this point, it's really more about how does he move on from this moment. I don't expect him to backtrack on his kind of big ideas. I don't expect us to get Ford guidance. We're not going to get a big lead on September. But I do expect him to show that he's building a consensus. I think getting responding to some of the feedback, particularly from the committee. I'm sure they had feedback on the July press conference too.
And just showing that he's leading a team and he is responding to that as opposed to going it alone. It's a big transition to go from the outside critic to the leader of the institution. I would expect it to be Bob Lee, but I also expect him to bring it today.

**Tom Keene** (2:34)
Do you think that he also, Claudia, then needs to address the dissenters, the most dissents since September 2016, the hawkish speech we've had from those and others post July conference? Is that something that this chair also needs to be addressing?

**Claudia Sahm** (2:49)
Well, the chair needs to understand all of the arguments that are on the table. The hawks have been very articulate in what they're seeing in the data, what they're concerned about, why they have dissented. I think that is great.
It's really giving voice to the hold, like the majority at the Fed, who have so, up to this point, been on hold. It is clear they're looking for more improvement. It's him giving voice to the consensus and also giving us a piece of that debate. I'm not so sure we're going to get that message from Kevin Warsh today. I'm not sure that's where he's going to go with it, but it is going to be in the air at Jackson Hole. They are going to be talking about inflation and the inflation outlook.

**Tom Keene** (3:27)
Claudia, how much though do you expect any sort of framework, maybe not forward guidance, but a laying out of the data he finds important, the things he watches for and would concern him as he's judging what inflation looks like. Do you expect to get more meat on those specific bones?

**Claudia Sahm** (3:43)
I would hope we get meat on some bone, right? I mean, he has put out a really big regime change. I mean, if you look at the five task forces, they touch almost everything the Fed does. That is massive. To go through that, if he pulls off a piece of it, goes into a little more depth, gives us some more details, I think that would be great.