yes. >> the new imf must be chosen on merit. if yi look at the cancers all of them could be chosen on merit, on they? there's no obvious political appointment in there, is there? >> i think that's right. the end of this process, everyone will insist the nationality play nod part and christine lagarde will get the job. they'll say she got it because she was the best person of the job and her frenchness was incidental. >> they've been saying you have to have a european to lead the imf, particularly at the moment, because there's a euro debt crisis going on, it's a politically sensitive topic. does that hold water, that ar e argume argument? this is going to be focusing the imf for quite some time to come. the euro crisis will be the defining problem of the next term. it cuts both ways. i think you need someone with stature and political clout. you can sit down with european finance ministers at the ecb and make suggestions or hurry things along. however, a european may be too closely identified with the failed strategies we've alr

as far as the imf is concerned, it has to be humiliating. that word was used before describing the way that chance is. a couple of the politicians here said all of this is very humiliating for chance because it damages the image of the country. andrew? >> jim, thank you so much. jim bitterman joins us live from paris. nina, this story is rattling through the currency markets. what about the equity markets in europe? >> we'll come to the currency in a second. here's the picture, about 90 minutes into the trading session today. you can see, some of the indices really, really falling quite a bit. and look at that. france, down by 1%. what's going on, we have 19 stocks or auto stocks driving some of the early morning losses. we've also we've also got a couple of stories in the mix. we also have the likes of the london stock exchange actually rising. and that's helping to counter some of the losses on the ftse 100. that stock's living after a rival bid for the toronto market, tnx. perhaps, it may back out of that particular transaction. let's tal

at the imf and american running the world bank? should we get out of that practice? >> look, once again, if they are doing good jobs, why should we replace? they're doing a good job in the world bank. we have the problem in the leadership with the imf. let's find another one, a leader for that. >> should be a european is what you're suggesting. >> yes, i think it should be a european. europeans together by far, they are the biggest stake holder in the imf and there are a lot of europeans that can do that job. why now choose someone because he's not european? that makes no sense. i think there will be good candidates from europe. let's not make now an issue of flag, about this, what is important that we have a strong, credible candidate and i think we can present that candidate. >> once again, the president of the european commission there. this is the next phase opening up now. face-to-face diplomacy and phone diplomacy, the president of the commission had a bilateral with angela merkel over the weekend. president obama will be mee

he spent 15 years at the imf himself. also in the cards, kemal dervis, the former head of the international development program. he spent 22 years at the world bank. also, this man is from mexico, agustin carstens. he's a former finance minister and highly respected. and montek-singh ahluwalia. he's a member of the influential washington advisory board, the group of 30. he served the finance and economy ministries in india. one of the early candidates or favorites for the job is gordon brown, chancellor for ten years under tony blair. he often says he wants the top job but does lack the backing of the current prime minister, david cameron. one of the favorites is this lady, christine lagarde. she's from the same country as strauss-kahn himself. as you were saying, andrew, france has often giveren the imf a number of managing directors. she's also the first female to hold various positions. first female to be the finance minister for a g8 nation. she's also renowned lawyer, spent many years in the united states. she was th

so what's the root to the top job at the imf? they've asked for a fair and open process, but, of course, with so much power held in europe and the united states, it's considered. people must convince a member of the imf executive board to actually nominate them. the first point, of course, is a compatriot, so somebody from their own country to give them their support. too bad in the case of gordon brown that the prime minister has already written off that possibility. they must then meet with the executive board in washington. that's officially a secret process, wu the movements of certain individuals must be closely monitored during this time. and then, of course, there's the selection process. that's down to the board. there are 24 members and a majority vote decides who the next boss of the imm will be with nine hailing from europe and two more representing european interests. of course, a lot of people are saying it will take quite a team effort by the rest for europe to release its grip on the top job there. >> a lot of peop

she says the fact that he's being detained without bail could damage the imf. but others were refusing to speculate on strauss-kahn's guilt. any successor must be drawn from european ranks. this man thinks the u.s. has quite enough influence within the imf. >> i don't want to say nothing about the candidates. i repeat. i want to say something about the necessity for europe to maybe keep this position. >> it's not just the u.s. challenging europe's dominance of the imf. economists also want more of a say. china is calling for fairness, transparency of the funds' next managing director. >> it certainly does. all of the speculation will be on dsk as he spends another night in his cell at new york's rai rikers island jail. let's take a look at the counts by the u.s. county district attorney's offer. the most serious charges are two counts of criminal sexual acts in the first degree. they eefrp carry a maximum sentence of 25 years in prison. then there's also one count of attempted rape in the first degree with a maximum sentence of 15 years. meaning up to seven yea

the imf directors off of those five countries had this to say. the convention that the selection of the managing director is made in practice on about the basis of nationality undermines the legitimacy of the fund. we are concerned with public statements, that the position of managing director should continue to be occupied by a european. they're called for a, quote, truly comparative base. there are two european candidates who have thrown their hats into the ring. you're looking here at agust agustin carstens. along with him is grigor grigory marchenko. also the european heavyweights and officials. we have these two nominees. they say expect more to come out of the emerging economies. >> you know what's really interesting, andrew, is i've been speaking to people inside the imf myself, and irrespective of whether they come from a euro zone country or otherwise, there seems to be inside the doors of the imf quite a call for that. we'll have to see that. >>> we have more to tell yog u after the break. more airport closures, more stranded passengers

the imf informed staff it want 30z% of senior positions to go to women bit year 2014. nina dos santos, cnn, london. >> nina has been following closely how the strauss-kahn scandal, if it is, i suppose we have to say it's an alleged scandal. it's been affecting the international monetary fund. more details on the imf and the strauss-kahn case, check out nina's blog at our cnn website, that and lots and lots and lots more at cnn.com. andrew? >>> charles, one person who is standing firmly behind dominique strauss-kahn is his wife, the american ann sinclair. reports say she's using her family's fortune to try to clear his name. when he was release from rikers island last friday, it was sinclair who posted her husband's $5 million insurance bond. reports say she's temporarily rented a $4,400 a month apartment near wall street and will pay for strauss-kahn's expensive round the clock security. charles? >>> just ahead on "world business today," we'll show you how the markets are responding after monday's global sell-off and more. >>> and new information implicates air france'

she's the french finance minister and could be the first ever female chief of the imf. jim bitterman sat down with ms. lagarde to ask her what she might bring to the imf's top job. >> i tell you what i bring, i think, to the fund if i was elected. i'm a lawyer by background. and i have that set of legal skills. i'm a leader by temper and attitude and professional experience. i'm also a person that can reach out and reach consensus. i'm a person that expects others to shine and bring their talent to resolving problems. on the top of which having been 25 years in private practice and having led a very large institution, although in the private sector, baker mckenzie, one of the largest law firms in the world, i've been the minister of finance for france for the last four years. you know, we've traveled the tempest, not too badly. the crisis did not hit france as hard as it hit other countries. >> in your announcement, why did you emphasize you were bringing your expertise as a lawyer and enterprise but also as a woman. what was the point of that? >> i made the point about

the former imf chief is said to have experts in the united states and france. strauss-kahn is under tight surveillance in a manhattan town house while he awaiting his next court appearance next week. he denies attacking a hotel maid in new york city on may 14th. >>> andrew? >> meanwhile, charles, french finance minister is starting a global tour in her bid to succeed strauss-kahn. her campaign to win support will take her to china, india, several african naxs and the middle east. lagarde hopes to overcome potential opposition. >> for whomever does get ahead of the imf, one of their big tasks will be dealing with the long debt crisis. greece very much at the center of that right now. "the financial times" reports european leaders are negotiating a deal for unprecedented outside intervention in greece's economy. that would include international involvement in tax collection and the privatization of state assets in exchange for new bailout loans. we expect the eu and the imf to respond this week to greece's efforts to control its deficit. meanwhile, greek's suppos

find out what they have to say about the maid who accuses the former imf chief of sexual assault. >>> this is "world business today." welcome back. >>> let's bring you up to date on some other stoririey on some other storiristorys we' follows. lawyers for dominique strauss-kahn say they have evidence that could undermine the credibility of the maid who said he had tried to rape her. strauss-kahn is now living under house arrest in manhattan. the french economist faces huge media scrutiny and a string of leaks from the new york police case against him but his lawyers claim they could easily demonstrate his 32-year-old accuser should not be believed. >>> we're just hours away from hearing details about what led to the fatal crash of an airbus two years ago. this is the tail wing of the plane. later on fridays, investigators will publish a time line of events leading up to the failure. they need more time to examine the data found from the black boxes. a more detailed report will follow in july. >>> the former boyfriend of the late hong kong billionaire nina wang has been charged with fo

in brazil, pledging a greater role for large developing countries like brazil in the imf's management. >>> now in japan, sony corporation now resumed production of all ten of its factories damaged by the quake and tsunami in march. the most recent plant to come back into operation is located in the hard-hit miyagi prefecture, now running at a reduced capacity. >>> russia suspended all vegetable imports from germany and spain. the ban comes after an e. coli outbreak linked to raw produce killing more than a dozen people in germany. the e. coli bacteria has been found in cucumbers originating in spain, packaged in germany and distributed throughout europe. >>> the brakes are starting to go on in india. the country's gdp growth, broader number of economic growth slowed to 7.8% in the first three months of 2011 compared with the previous quarter, and while growth compared with the same quarter last year came in at 8.5%, far short of expectations a downward pattern is emerging, analysts expect it to continue. live from new deli to explain the squeeze and what's behind the growing rate. >>

in france, the former imf chief is seen as a victim. perhaps strauss-kahn's biggest defender is french writer bernard. thank you for joining us thank you. >> you gave a full-throated defense to dominique strass-kahn earlier this week. a lot has happened since then. he has been indicted by a grand jury based upon a pretty full record, we understand. does any of that shake your confidence in your defense of him that you have articulated -- you know, far and wide somewhat to the consternation of many people? >> no. i did not change my mind. maybe he is guilty. the grand jury will appreciate that. they will decide if he is guilty or not. but for the moment, the way he was treated means that he's also a victim and he has been victim of punishment. no one knows if he is guilty or not. nobody knows what happened in his room. we will know when the people, the -- the people of the trial, the grand jury will investigate and decide. according to the american principle, this is unbearable. i'm not defending a friend. i'm defending the principle on