Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen prepares to speak before a Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing on the ìSemiannual Monetary Policy Report to the Congressî on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 14, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTSYMI3Joshua Roberts—Reuters
- TitleChair
- AffiliationFederal Reserve
When the Fed began raising rates in late 2015, there was reason to fear a meltdown, especially given that a generation of investors had come of age without experiencing a rate hike. That markets stayed sane is a testament to Yellen, who has been calm and consistent in making sure Wall Street and the public know what to expect from the world’s most powerful central bank. Credit Yellen, too, for resisting populist pressure to raise rates earlier, when that could have hurt a fragile economy.