G20 hopes for progress on EU debt crisis: Carstens

Mexico's central bank chief Agustin Carstens pitched his bid to lead the International Monetary Fund on Tuesday to the IMF executive board, calling for increased resources.Carstens, the emerging-market candidate vying against European rival Christine Lagarde, told the board the 187-nation IMF needs more funds from its members."The IMF is not all it could be," Carstens told the 24-member board, which plans to choose between the two candidates by the end of June.

Mexico's central bank head Agustin Carstens auditioned for the International Monetary Fund's top job at the organisation's Washington bureau on Tuesday. His chief rival, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, will make her case Wednesday.

By Carnegie Endowment:As expected, the G20 summit yielded little by way of concrete commitments or dramatic breakthroughs. The high hopes of just a few weeks ago had already dimmed by the time leaders gathered in Cannes, in an atmosphere beset by European divisions, Greek tragedies, and the inability of the United States — absorbed by its own domestic problems — to provide the necessary impetus.

IMF chief Christine Lagarde said Monday the fund had adequate resources to deal with the debt crisis affecting the world economy."I believe that today the IMF has adequate resources," Lagarde told Europe 1 radio after some member nations of the G20 meeting in Paris on Friday and Saturday called for increased resources for the world body.The United States said an increase was unnecessary.Asked what she considered an adequate level of resources for the International Monetary Fund, Lagarde declined to give figures.

Reuters - France and Mexico have put forth strong contenders to replace Dominique Strauss-Kahn as head of the IMF, Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said on Wednesday, suggesting Ottawa will not endorse its own central bank chief as a candidate.