Jackson Hole Economic Symposium

The annual Jackson Hole Economic Symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City has been held since 1978. From 1978-1981 it was held at different locations but since 1981 it has been held in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and this year is no exception.
From 24^th – 26^th August 2017, the most influential central bankers, finance ministers, academics and other financial participants from around the world will meet again to discuss the issues facing economies around the globe.
 

About the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium

 
The key feature of the meeting is discussion that takes place between the participants. Because of the high-profile participants and the topics that are discussed in the event, there is a considerable interest in the symposium, however, to help foster the open discussion that is critical to the event, the attendance is very limited. The topic for the upcoming meeting is “Fostering a Dynamic Global Economy”.
The event receives a large number of requests from media agencies worldwide, however, the press presence is also limited to a group that is selected to provide transparency to the symposium.
 

Importance of the event

 
The symposium is closely followed by financial markets participants around the world and over the past decade it has attracted more attention, this is mainly because what has happened in the past. Some of the biggest monetary policies were initially revealed at the event, although they were not formally announced. During the event, any unexpected comment from any participants can influence the global financial markets. Here are some notable moments from Jackson Hole Symposium:
 

• 2005 – Raghuram Rajan (then professor at the University of Chicago and former governor of Reserve Bank of India) warned about risks that the financial system had absorbed throughout the years. Three years later, the US subprime mortgage crisis erupted into global financial crisis.
• 2012 – Michael Woodford (macroeconomist and monetary theorist, Columbia University) presented where he said that Fed’s stance on keeping its main interest rate near zero until a certain time would reflect pessimism about the speed of the economy’s recovery. Later that year, the Fed announced it would keep rates near zero until unemployment fell to 6.50% and inflation did not climb above 2.50%.
• 2014 – Mario Draghi (ECB president) hinted that the ECB was edging closer to embarking on its QE path. During the event, Mario Draghi said that ECB could use ‘all the available instruments’. His announcement came just two months after ECB introduced negative deposit rates in the Eurozone, the financial markets rallied during his speech at the Jackson Hole.

 
The symposium is a must watch financial market event and it is worth keeping an eye on the discussions and speeches during the event as we may see statements from some of the most influential people from around the world, including FED’s Janet Yellen and ECB’s Mario Draghi, to name a few which could create some volatility in the markets.

By: Klavs Valters
GO Markets