“When you have to shoot, shoot! Don’t talk.” — Tuco, in The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966).

There was a time when Federal Reserve officials said little and let the data do the talking. Not anymore. Nowadays, we’re flooded with Fedspeak, especially this week.

The Fed’s policy-making arm, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), on Wednesday released the minutes of its meeting last month and the verbiage was dovish, which is to say…bullish.

“The vast majority” of participants at the July 30-31 meeting “observed that, if the data continued to come in about as expected, it would likely be appropriate to ease policy at the next meeting,” the summary stated. Investors were cheered.

FOMC minutes provide detailed insights into the deliberations that took place during FOMC meetings. They reveal the diversity of opinions among Fed officials, their concerns, and their assessment of economic conditions. Parsing these discussions helps investors gauge the likelihood of future policy moves.

Wall Street also is bracing for the annual Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, held August 22-24.

All of this talk occurs before the FOMC’s meeting September 17-18, at which time a decision will be rendered on rates.

The watering holes of Jackson Hole…

This week in Jackson Hole, Fed officials, plus their overseas colleagues from the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, and the Bank of Japan, will gather amid spectacular scenery in the Grand Tetons to make imposing statements, schmooze among themselves, and preen for the press. (Jackson Hole is famous for its vibrant nightlife. The symposium’s taxpayer-subsidized bar tabs must be huge.)

Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to give a speech on Friday at Jackson Hole. Investors give credence to Fed Chair Powell’s remarks at the Jackson Hole symposium because these communications offer critical insights into the Fed’s thinking and future monetary policy direction. Powell’s Friday remarks are expected to echo the dovishness of the latest FOMC minutes.

Based on the minutes that were released Wednesday, in combination with recent economc trends, the market is fully pricing in a September rate cut, as measured by the CME Group’s FedWatch tool (see the following chart, with data as of August 21):

Source: CME Group

The Jackson Hole symposium has historically been a platform for Fed Chairs to signal important shifts in monetary policy. For instance, Ben Bernanke’s 2010 speech at Jackson Hole hinted at a second round of quantitative easing, which immediately boosted markets.

Powell’s remarks will be scrutinized for any forward guidance on interest rates, inflation targeting, and other policy tools. Since Jackson Hole is an annual event with global attention, any signals given there are interpreted as highly authoritative and can move markets immediately.

The symposium isn’t just a U.S. event; it’s a global gathering of central bankers, economists, and policymakers. Powell’s statements at Jackson Hole can influence not only U.S. markets but also global financial markets, because they provide cues on the Fed’s view of the global economic landscape and its potential policy responses.

The Fed uses verbal cues as a tool of forward guidance, subtly preparing markets for future policy moves. By providing spoken hints without committing to immediate action, the Fed can manage market expectations and reduce the risk of sudden market shocks.

In the meantime, due to increasing optimism over Fed policy, the main U.S. stock market indices closed mostly higher Wednesday as follows:

• DJIA: -0.00%
• S&P 500: +0.42%
• NASDAQ: +0.57%
• Russell 2000: +1.32%

The benchmark 30-year U.S. Treasury yield fell 0.47% to settle at 4.05%.

Maybe you’re sick of Fedspeak, just as I am. However, we have no choice but to listen. All of that talking moves markets.

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John Persinos is the editorial director of Investing Daily.

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