Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Janet Yellen as Fed Chairperson?

Scott Lanman at Bloomberg is floating the name of San Francisco Fed president Janet Yellen as a possible alternative to Ben Bernanke as Fed chair. I have no idea where this is comintg from. It's completely off my radar screen.

It's Larry Summers job, unless he says or does something real stupid between now and end January 2010. Of course, this is Larry Summers so saying or doing something stupid can not be ruled out.

Hey, maybe I'll ask him about his silent partnership with Nouriel Roubini, aka Dr. Doom.

3 comments:

  1. Acclimationg folks to idea of new FEDhead.

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  2. @CMD

    Makes sense. Now that I think about it. Probably a diversionary tactic to keep from putting too much focus on Summers too early.

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  3. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aoQtYnu9Q5Ck

    July 1 (Bloomberg) -- Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco President Janet Yellen said the prospect that policy makers will leave the benchmark U.S. interest rate near zero for the next several years is “not outside the realm of possibility.”

    Given the recession’s severity, “we should want to do more. If we were not at zero, we would be lowering the funds rate.”

    Nevertheless, the threat of another financial shock, such as one from falling commercial real-estate prices, is “high on my worry list.”

    Responding to audience questions after her speech, Yellen said China’s concern about the value of the dollar “is logical” given the country’s holdings in Treasuries.

    China’s call for the creation of a reserve currency other than the dollar is “not practical at the current time,” and more of a “long-term” idea, she said.

    The Fed “won’t hesitate” to withdraw the record stimulus it has put in place, when necessary, Yellen said. “If anything, I’m more concerned that we will be tempted to tighten policy too soon, thereby aborting recovery.”

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