誰將接任美聯儲主席：現在一切都是未知數

The withdrawal of the leading candidate to head the U.S. central bank leaves it an open question who President Barack Obama might name to succeed outgoing Chairman Ben Bernanke.

A key White House economic adviser in the early years of Mr. Obama's presidency, Lawrence Summers, withdrew his name Sunday from consideration to lead the Federal Reserve, the country's key monetary policy agency and an important link in the world economy.

His withdrawal could lead to the appointment of the first woman chairman of the Fed, Janet Yellen, currently the central bank's vice chairman. But other economic leaders could also be named.

One leading U.S. economist, Jim O'Sullivan of High Frequency Economics, told VOA Yellen is the likely choice and would lead to a continuation of Fed support for the American economic recovery.

Washington officials believed Summers, a former Harvard University president, was Mr. Obama's first choice to replace Bernanke, when his term expires in January. But several Democratic senators had voiced opposition to Summers' possible appointment, telling the White House that he was too lax on financial regulation.下任美國聯邦儲備委員會主席的主要人選薩默斯退出後，奧巴馬總統將會任命誰替接伯南克成爲一個懸而未決的問題。

勞倫斯·薩默斯是奧巴馬總統任期最初幾年的主要經濟顧問之一，他在週日請求把自己撤出下任美聯儲主席的考慮人選。美聯儲是美國重要的貨幣政策機構，也是世界經濟體中的重要環節。

薩默斯的退出可能使現任美聯儲副主席珍妮特·耶倫成爲美聯儲第一位女性主席，但其他重要的經濟人物也有可能被提名。

重要的美國經濟學家、高頻經濟公司的奧沙利文在接受美國之音採訪時說，耶倫很有可能被提名，如果她擔任美聯儲主席，會領導美聯儲繼續支持美國經濟復甦。

薩默斯曾任哈佛大學校長，華盛頓官員曾經認爲他會是奧巴馬總統提名接替伯南克的首要人選，伯南克的任期在明年1月結束。但是多名民主黨參議員曾表示不支持薩默斯擔任美聯儲主席，並對白宮說他對金融界的監管過於放鬆。