IMF head arrives in Nigeria for first Africa visit

By Simon Johnson, co-author of White House Burning A decision on choosing the next president of the World Bank is expected this week – perhaps as early as Monday.  The Obama administration nominated Jim Yong Kim, president of Dartmouth College and a noted public health expert.  The reaction to this nomination from development economists and people experienced in the business of lending to poor countries has been overwhelmingly negative.

Nigeria's Finance Minister Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala who is angling for the World Bank's top job, is a respected economist who has spent most of the last 30 years at the bank.Before she became finance minister in August, the 57-year-old Harvard-educated economist was the World Bank's managing director, the second most powerful position at the global financial lender.

IMF head Christine Lagarde praises Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan's efforts to transform his country's economy during a visit to Africa.

An Article IV consultation for a reserve-currency sovereign that might actually matter: Rachel Cooper: