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Economists and other analysts were sounding off Monday following news that President-elect Joe Biden has selected former Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen to lead the Treasury Department.
Biden plans to nominate Yellen, said a Wall Street Journal article citing unnamed sources, and other news outlets also reported that she was picked. If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would become the first woman to serve as Treasury secretary.
Below are some initial reactions, as the main U.S. stock gauges SPX, +0.56% DJIA, +1.12% COMP, +0.21% closed with gains on Monday after moving up toward session highs as the headlines about Yellen hit.
• “She is well within the orthodoxy of the economics community, and I suspect that fact along with her familiarity will lead to a largely positive response from financial markets. More broadly, from what we have seen so far, Biden appears to be mainly choosing old Democratic hands to fill his most vital Cabinet and White House posts, people from the Obama (and in some cases, even the Clinton) years. Progressives had hoped to wield major influence in the next administration, but if Biden’s personnel choices so far are any indication, he intends to govern more from what constitutes the middle of the Democratic Party today than to push the envelope far to the left.” — Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Amherst Pierpont
From MarketWatch archives, December 2018:Janet Yellen is worried about the next financial crisis
• “There’s a lot to be excited about, but here’s a big one: As a former Fed chair, she has great relationships across the globe. She can start repairing the damage in economic diplomacy from the past four years.” — Michael R. Strain, director of economic policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, in a tweet
• “Yellen is an excellent choice for Treasury secretary. She was my boss when I was a Senior Economist for International at the Council of Economic Advisors in 1998-99. The most wise boss ever!” — Nouriel Roubini, New York University economics professor often called “Dr. Doom,” in a tweet
• “Great to see there will be an experienced hand at @USTreasury. Every Treasury secretary has a learning curve (even former Fed chairs) but this is an excellent selection.” — Tony Fratto, founder of Hamilton Place Strategies and a former spokesman in the George W. Bush White House, in a tweet
