Lagarde Nabs U.S. Support to Lead IMF

With the backing of the International Monetary Fund's biggest member, the French finance minister is poised to take over Dominique Strauss-Kahn's job.

Christine Lagarde has won the support of the United States in her bid to lead the International Monetary Fund, all but guaranteeing her the job. Lagarde, France's current finance minister, would succeed Dominique Strauss-Kahn, a former French finance minister, as managing director of the IMF. Strauss-Kahn, of course, resigned last month, after being charged with the sexual assault and forcible confinement of a chambermaid in a New York City hotel room. The U.S.' backing of Lagarde means she'll beat out Mexico's central bank chief, Agusten Carstens, to run the IMF, which oversees the global financial system and has been an integral institution in curbing the effects of the world economic downturn in recent years.