Janet Yellen Is The Best Economic Forecaster On The Fed
The Wall Street Journal has ranked more than 700 predictions made between 2009 and last year by 14 Fed officials on everything from growth to jobs to inflation.
And Yellen, the Fed's vice chair and possible successor to Ben Bernanke, is at the top of the list.
Of course, even more important than bragging rights, is that this boosts the argument that she should be the next Fed Chair, which is a decision that Obama will make in the coming months.
She was joined in the high scores by other Fed "doves," policy makers who wanted aggressively easy money policies to confront a weak U.S. economy and low inflation. Collectively, they supported Fed Chairmen Ben Bernanke's strategy to pump money into the U.S. economy.
The least accurate forecasts came from central bank "hawks," those who feared Fed policies would trigger rising inflation.
Forecasting isn't the be all and end all for a Fed chair (you have to consensus build and communicate effectively too), but the report could bode well for her chances.