What we’re reading (11/24)
Janet Yellen edition:
“What The Yellen Choice Means For The Economy” (Politico). “In picking former Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen to serve as his first Treasury Secretary, Joe Biden is leaning on a well-known figure who is trusted and beloved by most Democrats, respected by many Republicans, acceptable to Wall Street and aligned with the no-surprises approach expected to be a hallmark of the incoming president’s tenure.”
“Yellen Will Confront A Cooling Economic Recovery, Uncertain Stimulus Prospects” (Wall Street Journal). “Janet Yellen, President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee to be Treasury secretary, will confront an economic recovery that appears to be losing momentum and uncertain prospects for additional stimulus from Congress. If confirmed by the Senate, Ms. Yellen would play a key role pushing for more aid for an economy battered by the coronavirus pandemic and related shutdowns, especially if Congress is unable to reach an agreement on a relief package before Mr. Biden takes office on Jan. 20.”
“Janet Yellen Has Excelled At Big Jobs. This Will Be The Hardest One Yet.” (New York Times). “If confirmed by the Senate as Treasury secretary, Janet Yellen will be among the most accomplished people to take over the big office at 1500 Pennsylvania Avenue in the 231-year history of the department. Few people in any era have served at the highest levels of economic policymaking for as long, and with as much distinction. Among other things, she will be the first person to have been the chief White House economist and head of both the Treasury and the Federal Reserve. At the Fed, she played a major role in engineering the longest economic expansion in American history, cut short only by the pandemic.”
“Who Is Janet Yellen, Biden’s Pioneering Pick To Lead The Treasury Amidst A Deep Crisis?” (Washington Post). “President-elect Joe Biden has picked economist Janet L. Yellen, a battle-tested leader who helped the nation recover from the Great Recession, to be U.S. treasury secretary. More recently, Yellen has become a leading voice urging Congress to pass more stimulus to prevent lasting damage from the pandemic. Yellen, 74, has had a long career of breaking glass ceilings for women and handling big crises. If confirmed by the Senate, she would be the first woman to lead the Treasury Department since the institution was founded in 1789.”
“Markets Cheer Yellen Pick For Treasury, Seeing Her Focus On Fixing The Economy And Not Politics” (CNBC). “The first woman Fed chief would also be the first woman Treasury Secretary and faces unprecedented challenges of massive unemployment and a record level of debt, as the government spends even more to reverse the impact of the pandemic during the Biden administration. ‘To me it shows Biden is taking stuff pretty seriously and definitely not pandering to the left. She’s a very serious economic thinker, and they have some very serious problems to deal with,’ said Barry Knapp, director research for Ironsides Macroeconomics.”
