From NPR News in Washington, I'm Jack Speer.The White House says President Obama will nominate Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellento succeed current Chair Ben Bernanke when he steps down in January.The president's expected to formally announce the nomination at the White House tomorrow.Economist Diane Swonk with Mesirow Financial saysYellen brings vast experience to the job.She was once a Council of Economic Advisers chair under President Clinton.She also was a former Federal Reserve board member in the 1990s during the great boom,a very different era for the Federal Reserve,and she was president of the San Francisco Fedand actually took a cut in pay and her pension to join the board of the Federal Reserve at a critical time.Yellen, a 67-year-old former professor,if confirmed by the Senate,would become the Fed's first woman chair.Obama chose Yellen after another top candidate, former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, took himself out of the running.President Obama sayshe regrets canceling his Asia trip in order to stay in Washington to deal with the partial government shutdown.NPR's Jackie Northam reportsthe president was to meet with Asian leaders to help cement a 12-nation trade deal.President Obama had hoped to make some progress on the Trans-Pacific Partnership during his Asia tour.Mr. Obama said he doesn't know for sure he would have been able to resolve issues surrounding the free trade talks,but that it didn't help,that he wasn't there to try.When asked at a White House press conferencehow he was reassuring foreign creditors like China and Japan worry whether the US is going to avoid defaulting on its debt,Mr.Obama would only say:
