US Senate confirms Yellen as Fed's chair
U.S. Senate on Monday confirmed Janet Yellen as the next head of the Federal Reserve, to replace the outgoing Fed chairman Ben Bernanke whose term ends at the end of this month.
The Senate voted 56-26 to approve the confirmation, with 11 Republicans joining Democrats in voting for Yellen.
Yellen, currently the Fed's vice chair, will also become the first woman to take the helm of the U.S. central bank in its 100-year history.
She was nominated by U.S. President Barack Obama for the post in October and will be the first Democrat to serve as chair person since 1987.
SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): BARACK OBAMA, US President
Barack Obama says Yellen will be a ``fierce champion'' for the American people.
She is considered a skilled economist.
Prior to becoming the Fed's vice chair, Yellen served as president of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank.
She also has served a stint on the Fed's board in the 1990s and was a top
In her recent remarks, Yellen voiced concern about high unemployment and spoke in favor of the Fed's bond-buying program as a way to stimulate the economy.
SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): JANET YELLEN, Fed's vice chair
"While we have made progress, we have farther to go, too many Americans can't find a job and worry how they will pay their bills, and provide for their families. The Federal Reserve can help it does its job."
After a string of data pointed to a better-than-expected growth rate, the Fed has just begun normalizing its monetary policy.
In December, the Fed announced that it would start in January to taper its purchases of Treasury and mortgage-backed debt to a pace of 75 billion dollars a month from 85 billion dollars a month.
Richard Sylla, Financial Historian of NYU Stern School of Business, says Yellen is expected to continue the policy until concrete signs emerge of sustained improvement of the economy and job market.
SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): RICHARD SYLLA, NYU Stern School of Business
Few doubt Yellen's qualifications to take on the job.
But Sylla believes the central bank has made the right choice.
SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): RICHARD SYLLA, NYU Stern School of Business
"I've studied that history as a financial historian and it’s very important that the Fed has strong leaders and there have been a number of them. There have been some other cases where the Fed has weak leaders and usually the country gets into a little trouble and the financial system does when the Fed leadership is weak. I would say that the leader of the Fed has to be strong, has to be a good leader that is able to know where the Fed should be going."