U.S. President Barack Obama is said to be ready to name former Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers as the next chairman of the Federal Reserve, reports Japanese business daily Nikkei (subs. required).
Citing unnamed sources, the newspaper claims that Summers (58) will be the chosen person whose major task will be restore some guidance credibility in the Fed.
Both the dollar and U.S. Treasury yields rose on Friday on the news.
Bernanke’s term expires at the end of January 2014, and Summers was competing with Janet Yellen, currently the vice chairman of the Fed, as well as former vice chairman, Donald Kohn, for the post.
According to The Jewish Press , Stanley Fischer —who recently quit in the middle of his second term as Governor of the Bank of Israel and returned to the U.S.— also wanted the job. But his age (69) was one major factor that kept him from being a front-runner, despite being “the most qualified candidate” as stated by The Washington Post .
A global poll by Bloomberg reveals that Summers is expected to keep a tighter monetary policy if nominated as the new head of the Fed.
READ ALSO: Forget Syria and India. The Fed remains no 1 threat to gold price
Fed policy makers meet next week and Bernanke is set to hold a press conference at the end of the second day of the meeting, Sep. 18, at 2:30 p.m.
