There is a "spreading expectation" that Lawrence Summers will be named as the next Federal Reserve chairman, according to The New York Times.

And that expectation is helping to push interest rates higher, at least one expert says. That's because Summers, a former White House economic adviser, has made comments indicating that he might support a quick end to quantitative easing.

The Times didn't state exactly why Summers is now seen as beating out Fed Vice Chairwoman Janet Yellen for the central bank's chairmanship. "But the president's top economic advisers uniformly support the selection of Mr. Summers," the paper said.

Editor’s Note: Put the World’s Top Financial Minds to Work for You

As for interest rates, Julia Coronado, chief North America economist at BNP Paribas, said last week that the yield on the 10-year Treasury note already had begun climbing, as investors react to the prospect of Summers leading the Fed, according to the Times.

Under Summers there would be "higher ... interest rates, and a less buoyant economic recovery," she stated.

But Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian cautioned that investors don't know what Summers' policies would be. "We don't have enough information to make an assessment, just some second- and third-hand accounts," El-Erian told the Times.

Joann Weiner, who teaches economics at George Washington University, thinks Yellen and Summers should serve at the Fed together.

"I'd like to see Obama continue to make history by nominating Yellen, who would be the first  woman to lead the Fed, as the chairman and to see him nominate Summers to take over Yellen's post and become so-called chairman-in-waiting," she wrote in The Washington Post.

Editor’s Note: Put the World’s Top Financial Minds to Work for You