New York Fed names John Williams as its next president

There is going to be a new guy in charge at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. John Williams, formerly the president of the Federal Reserve of San Francisco, is moving to the East Coast, where he’ll take over the New York Fed from current President William Dudley. Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal talked with Bloomberg reporter Jeanna Smialek about the Fed governor and what his appointment means for the Fed as a whole. Smialek said he’ll be a key player on the Federal Open Market Committee in his new role. 

“The thing about Williams is that he already has a seat at the table, and so I don’t think what we would expect from this is any kind of dramatic shift in the way that the Fed is thinking,” Smialek said. “What could get elevated a little bit though is he has been really pushing the Fed to reconsider its inflation target. So I think that longer-term discussion could get a little bit more attention now that he’s in a more powerful role.”

Click the audio player above to hear the full interview.