New Federal Reserve chairman is sworn in

Janet Yellen has been sworn in as chairman of the Federal Reserve, becoming the first woman to hold the position. Her term as chair of the US' central bank will run until February 3rd, 2018. The oath was administered by Governor Daniel Tarullo.

Ms Yellen will testify before US lawmakers on February 11th in what might be her first public comments on monetary policy and the economy since taking the reins at the Fed.

Ms Yellen's predecessor, Ben Bernanke, has joined the Brookings Institution, a Washington-based policy think tank. Mr Bernanke will be a distinguished fellow in residence at Brookings, where he will join his former Fed colleague Don Kohn, who was vice chairman of the central bank under Bernanke. Mr Kohn is also a senior fellow at Brookings, as is former Fed vice chairman Alice Rivlin. "We are proud to welcome Chairman Bernanke into the Brookings family," said Brookings President Strobe Talbott. "His firm, steady hand at the Fed's tiller came at a crucial time in our nation's history, including during the worst financial and economic crisis since the Great Depression. We know he'll bring insights from his tenure at the Fed to his work at Brookings."