"What Does Election 2012 Mean for the Fed?"

From Real Time Economics:

One big consequence of President Barack Obama‘s Tuesday night win is that he’ll get to choose the next chairman of the Federal Reserve. But when might that actually happen? If history is any guide, not for a while.

Traditionally, presidents have waited until the summer or fall to announce their picks to lead the Fed. Ronald Reagan nominated Alan Greenspan in June 1987. The Bush White House consulted Mr. Greenspan extensively before choosing Ben Bernanke, whom George W. Bush nominated in October 2005. Most recently, Mr. Obama announced that he would re-nominate Mr. Bernanke in August of 2009.

Mr. Obama does have one appointment he could make sooner. Governor Elizabeth Duke‘s term ended in January, though she may remain in office until her successor is confirmed. Appointed by President Bush, the former banker is the only one of the Fed’s seven-member Board of Governors not chosen by Mr. Obama. Ms. Duke has emerged as the Fed’s housing market expert and helped broker a compromise that paved the way for the central bank’s new bond-buying program this fall....MORE