Janet Yellen at a crucial point in Fed’s future
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By JIM PUZZANGHERA AND DON LEE | Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Two momentous decisions involving the Federal Reserve are coming to a head, with significant implications for the U.S. and global economies.
Janet L. Yellen, a former University of California, Berkeley economist, stands in the middle of both of them.
As vice chair of the central bank, Yellen will take a leading role this week, when policymakers decide whether to start rolling back the Fed’s massive monetary stimulus after several years of providing extraordinary support for the weak economy.
The prospect of an imminent policy shift by the Fed has already shaken financial markets from Brazil to India, marking the end of an era of super-low interest rates.
Soon after, President Barack Obama is expected to nominate his selection to succeed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke, whose term expires at the end of January.
Yellen is one of two leading candidates for that increasingly powerful position, and her views on the economy and financial regulations have become the subject of intense interest among economists, investors and policymakers around the world.
“The interest is more outsized than normal because we’re still in very unusual times,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, referring to high unemployment as well as the unprecedented intervention by the Fed.
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