New IMF Chief Expected by June 30

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund plans to select a new managing director by June 30 to replace embattled former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who is under house arrest in New York on attempted rape charges. The two candidates are set to visit the fund this week for interviews. Mexican central bank governor Augustin Carstens will visit on Monday and Tuesday, while French Finance Minister and frontrunner Christine Lagarde will visit on Wednesday and Tuesday. The board will meet on June 28 to discuss the two candidates, and they hope to wrap up their discussion within two days. Lagarde is considered the frontrunner for the position, which has always been held by a European and Europe is desperate to keep.