Watch These Top Headliners at the Fed's Jackson Hole Conference

(Bloomberg) -- Janet Yellen, Mario Draghi and Haruhiko Kuroda will be among the monetary policy superstars donning western wear and puzzling over the global economy this week at the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s annual summit in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

The trio gather together at the remote mountain resort for the first time since 2014, headlining a high-ranking guest list at the world’s premier central banking event. It may also be Yellen’s final appearance at Jackson Hole as Fed chair, unless President Donald Trump nominates her for a second stint when her current term expires in February. Most observers expect him to pick someone else.

We’ve outlined the top attendees at this year’s shindig, along with when and if they’re expected to deliver remarks, and the major policy challenges that they currently confront.

(NOTE: All times New York, which is two hours ahead of local time in Wyoming.)

Janet Yellen

• Federal Reserve chair
• Speaking at 10 a.m., Friday, Aug. 25
• U.S. inflation remains well below the Fed’s 2 percent goal despite strong job gains and the lowest unemployment in 16 years. Fed policy makers are also increasingly talking about asset prices and financial conditions, though they say there’s no reason to worry -- yet. The rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee next meets Sept. 19-20. Yellen’s future could also be a topic of conversation, because her term ends in February.

Mario Draghi

• European Central Bank president
• Speaking at 3 p.m., Friday, Aug. 25
• The euro area’s recovery has gained strength since the start of the year, allowing officials to pledge to start talks this fall about an exit from unconventional policies, including large-scale asset purchases, in 2018. It was in Jackson Hole three years ago that Draghi laid the groundwork for its 2.3 trillion-euro ($2.7 trillion) bond-buying program. Still, inflation remains below-goal in Europe, and could be dragged down further by an appreciating euro. The ECB Governing Council meets next Sept. 7.

Haruhiko Kuroda

• Bank of Japan governor
• Not a listed speaker in program, though any conference attendee can make comments during the session discussions, which will be on the record
• Kuroda’s BOJ appears years away from normalizing monetary policy, especially as inflation lingers below goal. Kuroda’s term as governor is scheduled to end in April.

Benjamin Broadbent

• Bank of England deputy governor for monetary policy
• Not a listed speaker in the program
• The Bank of England kept the bank rate at a record low 0.25 percent on Aug. 3, and Governor Mark Carney said that Brexit is casting the biggest shadow over the U.K.’s economic outlook. Britain has until March 2019 to negotiate its divorce from the European Union, including a new trade deal. Inflation is above-target in the U.K., and the Bank said that a response to that will be needed eventually

Other notable attendees from the U.S. include:

• Fed Governor Lael Brainard
• Fed Governor Jerome Powell
• New York Fed President William Dudley
• U.S. National Economic Council Special Assistant to the President Andrew Olmem
• U.S. Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass

From Europe:

• ECB Executive Board member Benoit Coeure
• ECB Executive Board member and bank supervision Vice Chair Sabine Lautenschlaeger
• Bundesbank President Jens Weidmann
• Swiss National Bank Chairman Thomas Jordan

From Latin America:

• Banco de Mexico Governor Agustin Carstens
• Banco Central de Chile President Mario Marcel
• Banco Central de Argentina President Federico Sturzenegger

From Asia: 

• Hong Kong Monetary Authority Chief Executive Norman Chan
• Bank of Thailand Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob

From Africa and the Middle East:

• South African Reserve Bank Governor Lesetja Kganyago
• Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency Governor Ahmed AlKholifey

Fed Chair Candidates:

It’s also worth noting that three of the four people frequently cited as potential Yellen replacements when the Fed Chair’s term expires in February -- Kevin Warsh, Glenn Hubbard, and John Taylor -- are on the list. Gary Cohn, who works in Donald Trump’s White House as U.S. National Economic Council director, is not attending.

To contact the reporters on this story: Jeanna Smialek in Jackson Hole, Wyoming at jsmialek1@bloomberg.net, Michael McKee in Jackson Hole at mmckee@bloomberg.net, Alessandro Speciale in Jackson Hole at aspeciale@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Brendan Murray at brmurray@bloomberg.net, Alister Bull