Zambia sees 2007 inflation down to 5.0 pct - c.bank

(Reuters) - Zambia should reduce annual inflation to five percent in 2007 from 8.2 percent the previous year, aided by higher global metal prices and a domestic food surplus, the central bank said on Tuesday.

Bank of Zambia (BoZ) governor Caleb Fundanga also said the country's economic indicators were positive ahead of the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) review of performance in the third quarter of the year.


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French IMF candidate to canvass developing states

(Reuters) - Dominique Strauss-Kahn, the French candidate to head the IMF, will visit developing countries to seek their backing following criticism of the long-standing custom that a European always gets the job.

The former Socialist finance minister said in a statement that he had discussed his coming visits to emerging countries on Saturday with Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union.


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France's Sarkozy wants Strauss-Kahn as IMF head

(Reuters) - "I want Dominique Strauss-Kahn to be France's candidate at the head of the IMF because he is the best suited to this post," Sarkozy was quoted as saying.




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S.African calls for transparency in IMF chief selection

(Reuters) - The European Union moved fast on Friday to maintain its grasp on the leadership of the International Monetary Fund following a surprise resignation announcement by the IMF's Spanish chief, Rodrigo Rato.

The top IMF post has been Europe's since the institution was created after World War Two, with the top job at the World Bank, its sister organisation, going to an American in a carve-up that reflected the economic pecking order of an era now fading.


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IMF chief Rato says to step down in October

(Reuters) - International Monetary Fund Managing Director Rodrigo Rato said on Thursday he would step down from his post in October for "personal reasons," cutting short his term.

Rato, who took office June 7, 2004, said he would depart after the IMF's fall meetings in October.


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China says regrets new IMF currency guidelines

(Reuters) - China's representative to the International Monetary Fund "regrets" changes to the fund's currency surveillance guidelines that were adopted this month despite objections from Beijing and other members, according to an interview published on Sunday.

"Such an important revision should be adopted with the maximum consensus. But since this revision was adopted without addressing the concerns of some developing countries, China had to withhold its support," Ge Huayong, Chinese representative to the IMF executive board, said in an interview published on the central bank's Web site (www.pbc.goc.cn).


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