Almost every financial headline you read the next two days will mention Jackson Hole, the stunning Wyoming region that becomes the capital of the macroeconomic world every August. But this year's gathering of central bankers and economists could be more important than it's been in a very, very long time.

Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, is managing a high-stakes balancing act as he grapples with a cooling labor market, rising inflation and White House pressure to cut interest rates.