Janet Yellen Likely Nominee for Fed Vice Chair

The Wall Street Journal this morning is reporting that Janet Yellen is on the fast track to become the central bank's second-in-command replacement for the retiring Don Kohn.

Here's an excerpt from the Journal:

Ms. Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco since 2004, has been a strong supporter of Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's policies to fight the deep economic downturn.

Ms. Yellen, 63 years old, was chair of the Council of Economic Advisers from 1997 to 1999 under President Clinton, after serving as a member of the Fed's Washington-based Board of Governors for three years.

One of the more dovish policy makers among the Fed's 12 regional bank presidents, Ms. Yellen has been a key advocate of the Fed's policy of near-zero interest rates and a massive expansion of the central bank's balance sheet, even as some regional Fed officials advocate for pulling back the monetary stimulus more quickly.

Reacting to the news, Yoshio Takahashi, a fixed-income strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo, tells Reuters: "Given the fact Yellen is seen as most dovish among FOMC members, the market is likely to think that the Fed may take more time until it decides to raise interest rates."

Meantime, it looks like Paul Krugman will continue writing for the NY Times after all.