IMF chief warns of globalisation risks

(Reuters) - The head of the International Monetary Fund warned on Tuesday that global investment and growth prospects were at risk from a dramatic rise in private equity buy-outs and threats posed by financial globalisation.

Rodrigo Rato said the trouble in the U.S. subprime housing market was an example of such risks and called for a fresh look at lenders' underwriting standards and more borrower education.


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Strauss-Kahn to make lobbying trip on IMF candidacy

(Reuters) - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French candidate to head the International Monetary Fund, said on Tuesday he would tour key world capitals in the North and South to convince IMF members of his merits.

European Union countries have said they support Strauss-Kahn's candidature to head the body, but many countries in the developing world question the tradition that a European heads the IMF and an American leads the World Bank.


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IMF Chief De Rato to Leave Post in October, Two Years Before His Term Ends

(Bloomberg) -- International Monetary Fund Managing
Director Rodrigo de Rato will quit his post in October, two
years before his term ends, citing ``personal reasons.''

De Rato, a former Spanish economy minister who has led the
Washington-based agency since June 2004, will leave after the
annual meetings of the fund and the World Bank, the IMF said in
a statement. He said that he was concerned about his children's
education, without elaborating.


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IMF endorses Mozambique policies with new programme

(Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund on Monday approved Mozambique's graduation to an IMF programme designed to monitor a country's policies but involves no loans.

The IMF also agreed to disburse $2.4 million to the southern African nation, the sixth and final tranche under a 2004 IMF loan agreement that now expires.


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S.Africa calls for open World Bank appointment

(Reuters) - South Africa urged the United States on Saturday to abide by an agreement of the Group of 20 economic powers for an open and transparent appointment of the new head of the World Bank.

The G20, in the final communique of its 2006 annual meeting, called for the managing director of the International Monetary Fund and president of the World Bank to be selected in a transparent and consultative process, and not restricted to nationality.


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Chavez Plan to Withdraw From IMF May Give Pimco, MFS $404 Million Windfall

(Bloomberg) -- Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's
pledge to withdraw from the International Monetary Fund may
violate terms of the country's foreign bonds, allowing investors
to demand their money back.

Pacific Investment Management Co. and Alliance Capital
Management, the biggest holders of Venezuela's debt, are the
biggest among dozens of investors who would get a $404 million
windfall if the securities are redeemed because they own bonds
that trade below face value, according to data compiled by
Bloomberg. The country has $6.5 billion of notes that trade at a
discount among its $20 billion in foreign bonds.


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ECB's Mersch plays down U.S. slowdown - MNSI

(Reuters) - The ECB has said previously that the impact of slower U.S. growth on the euro zone is likely to be balanced out by demand from elsewhere.

Speaking on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund and World Bank meetings in Washington on Saturday, Mersch added that he did not expect the U.S. slowdown to sharpen abruptly.


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IMF urged to sell 400t of gold

A panel of financial states people advised the IMF on Wednesday to sell 400 tons of its gold reserves as part of a new strategy to avert a long-term crunch in its finances.

But the International Monetary Fund should proceed with care in selling any gold to avoid destabilising world markets, the panel members including former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan recommended.

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