Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is set to deliver what almost certainly will be his last keynote address at the central bank's annual conclave during one of the most tumultuous times in its history.

What's at stake is the near-term sentiment for financial markets, the longer-term path of the Fed's policy trajectory, and a not insignificant dose of trying to preserve vestiges of independence at a time when the normally sacrosanct institution is facing enormous political pressure.

If Friday's speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, goes at all like Powell's first seven-plus years in office, it will feature a calm and collected veneer even if masking the weight that he and his colleagues have been under all year.

"He's done a good job in terms of keeping the Fed's independence, ignoring the

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