Yellen should taper off cautiously

The United States Senate on Monday confirmed that Janet Yellen, a key force behind the Federal Reserve's unprecedented and controversial efforts to boost the US economy, will succeed Ben Bernanke as Fed chairman, when his second four-year term expires on Jan 31.Yellen, who is currently the Fed's vice-chair, will be one of the few women heading a central bank and the first to run the Fed in its 100-year history.

Yellen's first task in the world's most powerful financial post will be navigating the central bank's way out of its extraordinary stimulus, beginning with dialing down its bond-buying program.

The Fed cut overnight interest rates to near zero in late 2008 and has quadrupled its balance sheet to more than $4 trillion through a series of massive bond purchase programs meant to push down longer-term borrowing costs, which will promote consumption and investment.