IMF chief, Christine Lagarde, visits Mexico

Via Google News:
The head of the International Monetary Fund arrived in Mexico on Tuesday, where she will meet the president and central bank chief, on a Latin America tour overshadowed by the European debt crisis. IMF chief Christine Lagarde said in a blog post ahead of the trip that Mexico was "in a unique position to shape our collective economic destiny over the coming year" as it takes over leadership of the Group of 20 most powerful economies in 2012. Lagarde was scheduled for private talks with central bank chief Agustin Carstens Tuesday, before meeting with President Felipe Calderon and Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade and giving a news conference Wednesday.

Carstens Receives Last Minute Support from Canada and Australia

The breaking news today is that Canada and Australia will endorse Mexico's central bank chief Agustín Carstens as the race for the spot as IMF chief comes to an end this week. Canadian officials made this announcement on Friday - a decision that is, unfortunately, deemed by the WSJ as, 'unlikely to tilt a race led by French finance minister Christine Lagarde'.

Europe has backed Ms. Lagarde from the beginning, and there is no indication Washington will withhold support for her to succeed former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Source: www.wsj.com

Carstens Says Too Early to Comment on Japan's Support

From Reuters:

Mexican Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens, a contender to head the International Monetary Fund, said on Friday that it would be premature for him to comment on whether he earned Japan's support for his bid to become head of the fund.

Carstens, speaking to reporters after meeting Japanese Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda and Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa, said he explained his views on the fund and his ideas on Japan's role.

"The Japanese finance minister listened very carefully to my position," Carstens told reporters. "It is still premature, but I had a good discussion with him."

As we all know, Carstens is running against French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde to replace IMF Chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn. It seems as though Carstens, although cautious in his statements, is optimistic about Japan's support for his bid to the IMF presidency.

What do you know about financial relations between Japan and Mexico? Is their good reason to believe that Japan will support Mexico's Chief instead of Lagarde?

Conflict of Interest for IMF Candidate Christine Lagarde?

Related to my last post, I wanted to show this video of Agustin Carstens talking about his IMF candidacy...In previous occasions he has mentioned that he will bring a 'fresh set of eyes' to the IMF presidency, and states that having French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde as head of the the IMF is comparable to 'starting a soccer match at 5-0'. Is it fair to have the main borrowers head-up the crediting institution?

Tell me what you think.

Profile: Agustin Carstens/Christine Lagarde

Lately I've been posting news on the race between Carstens and Lagarde to be the next managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). As the BBC puts it, the two candidates competing to be the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), "could not be more different in their appearance" but...what about on paper?

Sometimes I've thought, how do we really know who would be a better pick for the position? Well, I found these BBC articles that review both of the candidates' careers and give us a good look at their credentials. Check out the aspiring candidates' resumes here: Agustin Carstens and Christine Lagarde

Mexico’s Carstens courting U.S. on IMF job

From The Washington Post:

The Mexican banker running to head the International Monetary Fund warned Monday that the agency could face a conflict of interest if his chief rival, a European, was appointed to the top job in the midst of the financial crisis roiling Europe.

Agustin Carstens, Mexican central bank chief, in Washington yesterday to lobby for the IMF post, said the International Monetary Fund needs to be seen as guarding the interests of all its members, not just those of the Europeans.

The fund can’t be perceived as working for Europeans,” he said. “I am sure she [Lagarde] will say she is working for the fund. But that question will be there.”

Read more on the fight for the IMF position.

Lesson in Mexico's Monetary Policy: Part 4

The central bank is authorised to auction its reserves of US dollars if the peso depreciates by 2% or more against the previous day's close. In this way, the central bank can increase liquidity in the market and smooth volatility in the value of the currency.

In 2009 the central bank put in place a programme of interest-rate swaps for up to Ps50bn (US$3.7bn) to facilitate banks' liability management, enabling them to swap exposure to long-term fixed-rate instruments for short-term variable paper.

In January 2011 the IMF renewed Mexico's precautionary, two-year US$72bn flexible credit line (FCL). The FCL insures against possible volatility in global markets by supporting the country's balance of payments and international reserve position.

Source: Economist Intelligence Unit