Fed Governor Michael Barr’s comments:Inflation remains too high.Favors holding rates steady if confident inflation is moderating.The labor market is stable, with low unemployment.The economy is growing solidly, boosted by artificial intelligence investment.If inflation does not moderate soon, it will be time for an interest rate hike.Persistent inflation above target creates risks.Fed Governor Michael Barr’s comments lean more hawkish, with a rate hike on the table if inflation does not moderate soon. Although he would favor holding rates steady if inflation is moving lower, his warning that persistent above-target inflation creates risks puts the burden on the data to show improvement.Meanwhile, solid economic growth, AI investment and a stable labor market with low unemployment suggest little urgency to cut rates. The message: steady rates remain an option, but stubborn inflation could make the next move a hike.US stocks are looking increasingly more fragile at the open with the S&P index now down -55 points or -0.72%. The Dow futures are down -318.70. NASDAQ futures are down -420 points2 year yield is trading up 2.5 basis points at 4.375%. The 10 year is at 4.784%, up 2.6 basis points. The expectation for September rate hike is 66%. That is up from the low 30s last week pre-Warsh Jackson Hole speech. This article was written by Greg Michalowski at investinglive.com.