The Point, 6.21.2026: Kevin Warsh v. Iran

Investors want to know how the new Fed chair will change the world's most important financial institution. Iran could stop him from getting to it.

You don’t need to follow financial news every day to keep up with markets and the economy. You just need a sharp weekly summary of what really matters. Here’s The Point:

Wall Street parsed every word, gesture, and unstated inference when Kevin Warsh made his debut on June 17. The new Federal Reserve chair has vowed to “reform” the central bank by cutting back on guidance about what the Fed might do, reducing its footprint in financial markets, and focusing more on keeping inflation low. There was a modest stock-market selloff after the Fed concluded its latest policy meeting on June 17, as Warsh and his fellow monetary mandarins indicated they might have to raise interest rates this year.

The Fed’s hints at rate hikes were something of a surprise, since President Trump, who nominated Warsh for the job, has pushed hard for a Fed chair who will lower rates, not raise them. But Warsh’s first concern isn’t Trump, or even the overall US economy.

It’s Iran.

The only reason the Fed might have to raise rates this year is that Trump’s war with Iran caused a global energy crisis, pushing the cost of oil, gasoline, and many other commodities substantially higher. That, in turn, pushed the overall inflation rate from an almost normal 2.4% before the war to a worrisome 4.2% now.

[The Weekly WTF: Iran mounts stunning come-from-behind victory!]