Yellen set for Fed chair

Janet Yellen will be nominated as the first female Federal Reserve chairman later today, in a ceremony attended by Barack Obama and current chair Ben Bernanke.

Yellen - one of the most dovish candidates for the post - is expected to extend the period of low interest rates, after her more hawkish rival Larry Summers was forced to withdraw following opposition from Democratic senators. Bernanke will step down in January, but Yellen faces opposition from Republicans before being elected to the post. Trained as an economist, Yellen joined the Federal Reserve as a director in 1994. She has been a key figure in the Fed's development of forward guidance, suggesting in April the Reserve could communicate more with the market once rates begin to r...