New Fed chairwoman faces changing landscape

Janet Yellen, who was confirmed Monday by the U.S. Senate as the first woman to lead the Federal Reserve, will take the helm of a Federal Reserve facing a significantly different economic landscape from the one that dominated Ben Bernanke's tenure as chairman, confronting her with different decisions as well.

Bernanke's eight years leading the Fed were largely consumed with the recession and his efforts to cure it by pushing down interest rates and pumping cash into the economy.

Many economists think Yellen's big challenge will be deciding how to ease off some of those very policies, which Bernanke took with Yellen's support.

Here's a look at the Fed's new chairwoman and the challenges she faces.

- Birthplace: Brooklyn, N.Y. Age: 67

- Experience: Vice chairwoman, Federal Reserve, 2010-present; president, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, 2004-10; chairwoman, White House Council of Economic Advisers, 1997-99; member, Federal Reserve Board of Governors, 1994-97; faculty member, University of California, Berkeley, 1980-94 (on leave); lecturer at London School of Economics and Political Science, 1978-80; economist, Federal Reserve, 1977-78; assistant professor at Harvard University, 1971-76.

- Party lines: Nominated by President Barack Obama, Yellen was confirmed by a 56-26 Senate vote that included 45 Democrats and 11 Republicans.

- Under scrutiny: Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, warned that a continuation of the Fed's easy money policies "risks fueling an economic bubble and even hyperinflation," which he said could cause "real and lasting damage to our economy."

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New Fed chairwoman faces changing landscape