Obama to name Yellen as Federal Reserve chairman on Wednesday Yellen, 67, who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Clinton administration, would become the first Democrat to lead the Fed since Paul A. Volcker stepped down in 1987. "Markets will be comfortable with a familiar face," said Michael Feroli, chief U.S. economist at JPMorgan Chase. "I think she will be pretty aggressive in pursuing full employment and be willing to tolerate moderate inflation risk," he added, discussing how Yellen would balance the Fed's twin objectives of promoting jobs and limiting inflation. But, he added, Yellen would be unlikely to allow inflation, or rising prices, to move much beyond the Fed's 2 percent target. Obama will announce Yellen's nomination at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, and the two will be joined by outgoing Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke. Bernanke, who has resisted officially announcing his departure until a successor is named, will have served eight consequential years. He presided over an unprecedented rescue of the financial system in 2008 and similarly unprecedented steps to try to get the economy growing faster in the years since then. Today, those efforts continue - with a commitment to keep short-term interest rates near zero for several more years, as well as an $85 billion per-month program of bond purchases, which seek to drive down interest rates on mortgages and other loans even further. Financial analysts expect Yellen to continue the approach set forth by Bernanke, but her nomination will coincide with a new chapter in the Fed's history. With the unemployment rate at 7.3 percent, some Fed officials, as well as outside economists, say it soon will be time for the central bank to begin winding down its extraordinary stimulus. That's likely to happen later this year or early next, when the Fed scales back its bond-buying program. Many economists had assumed that the Fed would begin doing so last month, but officials decided to wait when financial markets showed intense concern over Fed policy. In coming years, managing the Fed's exit from stimulus without causing the economy to slump is likely to be a difficult - and, in many ways, unprecedented - challenge, given the wide scope of the central bank's role in the economy today. Yellen is not expected to face any significant opposition in the Senate, which must confirm her for the post. Republicans, however, are likely to express concerns about whether she is adequately committed to the Fed's goal of curbing inflation.