Former Bank of Israel Head to be #2 at Fed

President Barack Obama has nominated economist Stanley Fisher, the previous head of the Bank of Israel, to replace incoming Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen as the second-in-command at the Fed. Fischer, a former MIT professor was widely praised for his job in steering a vibrant Israeli economy through the global recession. He was born in Zambia and grew up in Zimbabwe before studying in the UK and the United States.

Fischer is known to prefer the expansive monetary policies of outgoing Fed chair Ben Bernanke (who was his student at MIT), and will bring unparalleled international expertise. His appointment accompanies several others, the Wall Street Journal notes, as the Fed prepares to wind down its $85 billion-per-month bond-buying program amidst optimism about renewed U.S. economic growth (albeit with high levels of unemployment).