"She is extraordinarily well-qualified. I think she comes to the Fed with really some of the best credentials we've ever seen for someone to head up the Fed."
- Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), a member of the banking committee
It is not a surprise for anyone that Janet Yellen will become the next Fed Chairman. However, she made another important step for this position, as the Senate Banking Committee voted 14 to 8 to send Yellen's nomination to chair the U.S. central bank to the full Senate to wait for the confirmation. In case she is confirmed, as it is widely expected, the current vice chairman will replace Ben Bernanke, when his second four-year term expires in January 31, making her the first woman to rule the Fed, and possibly the most powerful one in finance world.
Yellen, who was nominated by Barack Obama, is viewed as a monetary policy dove, who focuses on driving down unemployment rather than on the risk of abnormally high inflation. Since late 2008 the Fed has held its benchmark interest rates around zero and has quadrupled the amount of its balance sheet that reached $3.9 trillion thank to three massive bond-buying campaigns. This figure has made lawmakers worried that these programmes have enabled enormous spending by the Obama administration. Despite these concerns, Janet Yellen is likely to handily win confirmation as soon as the Senate considers her nomination, what is likely to happen in December.
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