Lagarde tipped as IMF candidate

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

The IMF insists that the departure of Dominique Strauss-Kahn has not hurt its day-to-day operations, but is clearly under pressure to find a successor fast to lead a body that provides billions of dollars of loans to stabilise the world economy.