奥巴马将任命珍妮特・耶伦为下任美联储主席
US President Barack Obama will nominate Federal Reserve Vice-Chair Janet Yellen to be the next head of the US central bank on Wednesday, according to a White House official.
美国总统奥巴马将于周三任命美联储副主席珍妮特·耶伦为下任美联储主席。
Janet Yellen is set to step up from vice-chair at the Fed to the top post
If confirmed by the US Senate, Ms Yellen would replace Ben Bernanke, who has held the post for eight years.
She has been his deputy for the last two years, and would become the first woman to head the Federal Reserve.
Ms Yellen and Mr Bernanke are due to appear with the president on Wednesday.
She has taught at Harvard University and the London School of Economics, as well as holding a series of senior administrative positions in the US.
'Depth of experience'
Ms Yellen, like Mr Bernanke, is seen as a "dove", meaning she prefers to prioritise boosting employment by keeping rates low rather than worrying about inflation.
Her nomination has been widely expected after former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers withdrew his candidature.
One senior US senator, Democrat Charles Schumer, said Ms Yellen had the backing of politicians and would win Senate confirmation "by a wide margin".
The chairman of the US Senate Banking Committee, Tim Johnson, said she had "a depth of experience that is second to none".
"I have no doubt she will be an excellent Federal Reserve chairman," he added.
The BBC's chief business correspondent, Linda Yueh, says the transition from Mr Bernanke to Ms Yellen is likely to be "seamless" and will not have much impact, because the two already work so closely together.
"I don't think there's going to be a radical change," she said on Radio 4's Today programme, adding that the changeover was unlikely to alter the timing of the Fed's withdrawal of economic stimulus.