Yellen: Markets can't imprison Fed

Janet Yellen’s bid to become the first female head of the Federal Reserve appeared on track during her confirmation hearing on Thursday.
Several members of the Senate Banking Committee pressed Yellen on the Fed’s monetary policy, economic outlook and financial oversight, but none challenged her experience or capacity to lead the nation’s central bank.



At the same time, Yellen defended the Fed’s controversial efforts to pump stimulus into the economy, saying she would support continuing the “quantitative easing” until the labor market was back to a healthy state. She also pushed back against the idea that the central bank is beholden to the stock markets in setting policy.

“The Fed can’t be, or shouldn't be, a prisoner to the markets,” she cautioned, adding that she did not see evidence of any dangerous bubbles in the stock surge.

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