Janet Yellen will become the first chairwoman of the Federal Reserve, after being approved in the US Senate yesterday by a 56–26 vote. Yellen will take over from Ben Bernanke, the bank's chairman since 2006, on February 1 and will serve a four-year term.

Yellen, 67, was approved by the slimmest margin yet for a Fed chair nominee – reflecting the polarised political climate in Washington, but also the discontent among conservatives with policies such as quantitative easing, which they fear is