World financial leaders have promised “bold and ambitious” action to boost a global recovery that has shown recent disturbing signs of weakness.

Germany’s finance minister added to a chorus of calls for France’s Christine Lagarde to become a new leader of the International Monetary Fund.

France’s hard-working and chic finance minister, Christine Lagarde, has emerged as Europe’s likely candidate to lead the International Monetary Fund.

The European Commission has insisted that the next leader of the International Monetary Fund must come from the European Union, a stance backed by Germany, the continent’s economic heavyweight.