This week, Kevin Warsh delivers his debut Jackson Hole address as Fed Chair, a speech likely to set the tone heading into September’s FOMC decision.

Meanwhile, earnings from Nvidia and Salesforce will show whether the AI rally still has legs on the revenue front.

Add in Australian CPI, the Fed’s preferred PCE inflation gauge, and GDP releases from the US and Canada, and there’s no shortage of catalysts for traders to watch. Here’s everything to keep in mind for the week ahead in markets.

Calendar Events 

  • Australia CPI – Aug. 26
  • US PCE Index – Aug. 26
  • US Prelim Q2 GDP – Aug. 26
  • Jackson Hole Symposium – Aug. 27-29
  • Japan Tokyo CPI – Aug. 28
  • Canada Monthly GDP – Aug. 28
  • US Nonfarm Payrolls Annual Prelim Revision – Aug. 28

Top Things to Watch

Warsh’s First Jackson Hole Speech

The Jackson Hole Symposium runs from August 27–29, with Kevin Warsh delivering his first keynote as Fed Chair on Friday. While the official theme is “Financial Innovation: Implications for Payments and Policy,” markets will be focused on the outlook for interest rates.

The speech comes just 19 days before the next September 16 FOMC decision. The Fed held rates at 3.50%–3.75% in July, with three officials dissenting in favor of a hike. However, a weak jobs report, softer retail sales and easing inflation have since reduced expectations of further tightening.

With Warsh having removed forward guidance from Fed communication, his tone at Jackson Hole could provide the clearest signal yet on the Fed’s next move.

Nvidia and Salesforce Earnings

Nvidia and Salesforce report Q2 results after the market closes on Wednesday, August 26, making it one of the most closely watched sessions of earnings season.

Nvidia guided revenue of roughly $91 billion, while analysts expect around $91.85 billion and EPS of $2.08, nearly double last year’s figures. Attention will be on Blackwell Ultra execution, the next-quarter outlook and whether hyperscaler spending can continue supporting lofty AI expectations.

Salesforce will also be in focus after Q1 revenue rose 13% to $11.1 billion and non-GAAP EPS jumped 50% to $3.88. Investors will be watching Agentforce, a platform that enables businesses to build and deploy AI agents.

It has secured more than 29,000 deals, while combined annual recurring revenue from Agentforce and Data 360 has grown by more than 200%.

Together, the reports will test whether heavy AI investment is still translating into revenue across both infrastructure and software.

Australia’s July CPI Reading

Australia’s July CPI is due on Wednesday after annual inflation eased to a four-month low of 3.8% in June, down from 4.0% in May. Monthly prices fell 0.1%, while Q2 inflation slowed to 3.9% year over year from 4.1% in Q1.

Underlying pressures remain persistent. Trimmed mean inflation stayed at 3.6%, its highest level since September 2024, as elevated housing costs, services inflation and a tight labour market continued to support price growth.

With inflation still above the RBA’s 2%–3% target, the next report will show whether June’s cooling marked the start of a sustained trend or only a temporary pause.