Obama to choose Yellen for top Fed job, markets relieved

Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen addresses the 29th National Association for Business Economics Policy Conference in Washington March 4, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Gary Cameron

The nomination will put Yellen on course to be the first woman to lead the institution in its 100-year history. The advocate for aggressive action to stimulate U.S. economic growth through low interest rates and large-scale bond purchases would replace Ben Bernanke, whose second term as Fed chairman expires on January 31.

"Thank God Yellen will be nominated under the current circumstances. You don't want a change at the central bank right now," said Dan Fuss, a portfolio manager at Loomis Sayles in Boston. "This Yellen news is one uncertainty lifted from already nervous markets."