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.


Read more at Reuters Africa

Czech Koruna Gains for Second Week Versus Euro Amid Faster Economic Growth

(Bloomberg) -- The Czech koruna rose for a second
week versus the euro, its first back-to-back advance this year,
after the country posted a higher-than-expected trade surplus and
on signs inflation is accelerating.

The koruna rose to a seven-week high after a report this
week showed the Czech trade surplus widened to 6.9 billion koruna
($335 million) in May, a record for the month that beat the
median estimate of 5.3 billion koruna in a Bloomberg survey. The
statistics office said July 11 price growth quickened to 2.5
percent in June, which may prompt the central bank to raise
interest rates this month.


Read more at Bloomberg Emerging Markets News