Who’s the odds favorite to be next Fed chair?

An unusual but fierce campaign over who President Obama should appoint as the next Federal Reserve chair has had Washington in a tizzy as of late.

Will it be former Treasury Secretary Larry H. Summers or Fed Vice Chair Janet L. Yellen?

One Irish bookkeeping site has Summers pegged as the odds favorite to be the next Fed chairman when Ben S. Bernanke’s term expires in January.

According to PaddyPower.com, the odds are 4-6 that Summers will be the next Fed chairman. Previously, the site had his odds pegged at 5-2.

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His odds have narrowed as Yellen supporters have recently begun lobbying for her appointment. If appointed, she’d be the first woman to lead the 100-year-old central bank.

According to the Irish bookie, Yellen is the second most likely candidate for the job. Her odds are currently 7-4. Her chances have improved from 2-7 previously.

Her odds have likely improved because of the outspokenness of her supporters, who include House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and former Fed Gov. Alan Blinder.

As my colleague Jim Puzzanghera reported last week, about a third of of the Senate’s 53 Democrats recently signed a letter urging Obama to pick the former UC Berkeley economist and onetime president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

As Jim wrote: “The nomination of a Fed chair normally is closely followed only by economists, high-level investors and a small cadre of lawmakers with oversight of the 100-year-old central bank.”

The Irish website also has the odds listed for other candidates. Former Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s odds for being appointed are 16-1.

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