The highlight of the Kansas City Fed’s Jackson Hole central bank symposium is the Federal Reserve chair’s speech on Friday. This year, the U.S. economy faces economic and political cross-currents as Jerome Powell addresses the gathering for the last time as head of the central bank.

This week's set-piece event is the Jackson Hole central-bank gathering in Wyoming, slated for Thursday through Saturday. Investors will tune into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell's speech for any hints on whether the central bank might kick off interest-rate cuts in September.