 |
| Nirvana – 2n1 Massage Table Package |
| $319.00 |
| Nirvana – 2n1 Massage Table Package The 2 in 1 Nirvana portable massage table is unique in design and revolutionary…[Read More] |
 |
After the withdrawal of the Obama administration’s reported first choice, who is in the running to replace Ben Bernanke?
Share 1
inShare
0
Dominic Rushe in New York
theguardian.com, Monday 16 September 2013 13.05 EDT
Jump to comments (0)
Janet Yellen is currently vice-chair of the Federal Reserve. Photograph: Franck Robichon/EPA
The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, has made it clear he will not seek a third term at the head the US central bank. Until Sunday Larry Summers, a former treasury secretary, appeared to be the lead candidate to take over. His decision to drop out leaves some highly qualified candidates vying for arguably the most important job in world finance.
Janet Yellen
The 67-year-old economist would be the first woman to head the central bank. A Fed veteran, Yellen is a former president of the San Francisco Fed and has been the Fed’s vice-chair since 2010. She is an expert in labor markets and has been credited with being a central player in the central bank’s efforts to tackle unemployment.
In a Reuters poll of economists, back in June, Yellen was seen as the frontrunner for the job. But as it emerged that Summers was the top pick of Obama’s closest aides, her star appeared to be waning. Obama aides have anonymously revealed worries that she is not a "team player". She is also a relative stranger at the White House. Yellen has visited the White House just once since 2010, compared to Summers’ 15 visits since he stepped down as director of the National Economic Council.
Donald Kohn
Obama mentioned Kohn as a possible candidate in July, in a meeting where he told Democrat critics they were not giving Summers a "fair shake".
Kohn, 70, retired as Fed vice-chair in 2010, after 40 years, and was Bernanke’s No2 at the height of the financial crisis. Before that, Kohn was the closest adviser to Bernanke’s predecessor, Alan Greenspan.
After retiring from the Fed, Kohn joined a Washington-based think tank, the Brookings Institution, as a senior fellow. He is also a member of the Bank of England financial policy committee and advises the UK central bank on regulation. If appointed, he would be the oldest person to be named Fed chairman.
Timothy Geithner
Timothy Geithner is a former treasury secretary. Photograph: Tami Chappell/Reuters
One of Obama’s closest confidants, Geithner, 52, has consistently said he does not want the job. Obama’s first-term treasury secretary was head of the New York Fed during the financial crisis and became a key player in the Obama team after his election.
His nomination as treasury secretary was a grueling process, with questions over his tax returns dogging his appointment. Geithner’s record was consistently attacked by Republican candidates in the last election cycle.
Geithner has deep contacts in Washington and the banking industry and is a former protégé of Summers who held senior posts in the Clinton Treasury and at the International Monetary Fund. But qualifications and presidential favor aside, Geithner appears to be genuinely unenthusiastic about the Fed job. Anonymous friends have once again told the media that he is not in the running after Summers’ decision to quit.
Stanley Fischer
The American-Israeli economist stepped down as governor of the Bank of Israel earlier this year, and as an MIT economics professor counted Bernanke and the European central bank president, Mario Draghi, among his grad students.
He was deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund from 1994 to 2001 and played a central role as the IMF tackled crises in Asia, Mexico and Russia. A former World Bank chief economist, in 2011 he was a frontrunner to head the IMF, but was barred because of his age. He is now 69.
Roger Ferguson
Ferguson, 61, is chief executive officer of TIAA-CREF, which manages $487bn plus in retirement funds for 3.7 million active and retired employees in US schools and hospitals.
Fed vice-chair from 1999 to 2006, Ferguson is a Harvard- and Cambridge-educated economist who was seen as a rival to Bernanke for the Fed chair last time it became vacant, in 2005. He has been an economic adviser to Obama, serving in several different positions. He would be the first African-American to chair the US central bank.
via After Summers: Janet Yellen and other contenders to be named Fed chair | Business | theguardian.com.
