“International Monetary Fund” on The Daily Caller

BEIJING — Prime Minister Wen Jiabao said Thursday that China was considering whether to work with the International Monetary Fund to play a greater role in financing Europe’s efforts to end a sovereign debt crisis, but he left it unclear whether China was willing to drop conditions that would make its help unappealing for European countries. (more)

When California Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi was the Speaker of the House in 2009, President Barack Obama and congressional Democrats authorized $100 billion in spending as a line of credit for the International Monetary Fund to be used in times of emergency — funds that could now be used to bail out European banks. (more)

The world risks sliding into a 1930s-style slump unless countries settle their differences and work together to tackle Europe’s deepening debt crisis, the head of the International Monetary Fund has warned. (more)

All European Union states except Britain moved toward setting up a new treaty Friday, giving up crucial powers over their own budgets in an attempt to overcome a crippling debt crisis. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — Top global finance officials are pledging to work decisively and in a coordinated way to deal with a European debt crisis and other dangers confronting the global economy. (more)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The International Monetary Fund says the global financial system faces more challenges than at any point since the 2008 financial crisis. (more)

PARIS (AP) — A French court on Thursday ordered an investigation into new IMF chief Christine Lagarde’s role in a much-criticized $400 million arbitration deal in favor of a controversial tycoon. (more)

So far, Barack Obama and his Republican challengers have refused even to mention the biggest issue facing America in 2012. Perhaps they’re scared. Perhaps they’re in denial. In fairness, our domestic problems are now so serious that even the most discerning members of our leadership class could be forgiven for developing a touch of intellectual tunnel vision. (more)

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde is actively campaigning for the top job at the International Monetary Fund, planning visits to China and other nations in a bid to broaden her support internationally. (more)

When the Washingtonian, a D.C. area magazine, profiled International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn for its June issue, the Frenchman hadn’t yet been arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting a maid in New York. As noted by FishBowlDC, the publication had produced a “glowing” write-up on Strauss-Kahn before the news surfaced last week, and copies of the mag had already been mailed out to subscribers by that point. (more)

The Women’s Media Center (WMC) has a message for the media: “Stop victim blaming coverage of IMF Chief’s alleged sexual assault!” (more)

The leader of the International Monetary Fund, a possible candidate for president of France, was yanked from an airplane moments before it was to depart for Paris and arrested in the alleged sexual assault of a hotel maid, police said. (more)

BOSTON (MarketWatch) — The International Monetary Fund has just dropped a bombshell, and nobody noticed. (more)

A few days ago, Portugal officially requested a $116 billion bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund. This makes Portugal the third European nation to seek such a bailout in the past year (Greece got $157 billion; Ireland $122 billion). What most people don’t realize is that the U.S. is the largest contributor to the IMF. Therefore, U.S. taxpayers are paying for Portugal’s bailout, which — like the earlier bailouts of Greece and Ireland — was caused by too much government spending and borrowing. (more)

Last year, the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) bailout of Ireland and Greece put U.S. taxpayers on the hook for over $46 billion. It’s time to get ready for the next round of European bailouts in 2011. IMF First Deputy Managing Director John Lipsky says that “we will stand by with our European partners to provide support.” Speculation has been circulating that this will mean an upcoming taxpayer bailout of Portugal and Spain. (more)

1.) Joe Biden refuses to criticize totalitarian Egyptian president, admits liking The Onion — Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak has not truly “won” an election in the 30 years that he has been president of Egypt. Instead, he’s used secret police and state-controlled media to intimidate and incarcerate his critics and political opponents, including the runner-up in the first presidential election where someone other than Mubarak was allowed on the ballot. On January 25, Egyptians rose up against Mubarak, and the Egyptian president responded by shutting down the country’s Internet and sending armed thugs into the streets to do violence against his own people. By definition, Mubarak is a dictator. Unless, of course, your dictionary was penned by Vice Pres. Joe Biden, in which case geopolitical interests supersede honesty and/or human rights. “Mubarak has been an ally of ours in a number of things,” Biden told PBS’ Jim Lehrer last night. “I would not refer to him as a dictator.” In other Biden news, the vice president likes the Onion’s made-up coverage of him. “I think it’s hilarious, the stuff they do on me,” Biden told Yahoo! News Thursday. “I saw the one of me washing a Trans-Am automobile in the driveway shirtless with tattoos all over myself and out there,” he added. “By the way, I have a Corvette– a ’67 Corvette– not a Trans-Am.” (more)

I’ll admit to not being an economist; but as the son of a banker, I have almost an innate appreciation for the importance of meeting obligations. The recent discussion in Washington about raising the debt ceiling has brought about serious concerns from the financial community about the consequences of not doing so. (more)

Listening to the local news on the radio recently, I heard a report about how newly elected Baltimore County Executive Kevin Kamenetz plans to save $8 million by, among other things, merging the “Office of Sustainability” with the Department of Environmental Protection and Resource Management. (more)

DUBLIN (AP) — Debt-crippled Ireland formally applied Sunday for a massive EU-IMF loan to stem the flight of capital from its banks, joining Greece in a step unthinkable only a few years ago when Ireland was a booming Celtic Tiger and the economic envy of Europe. (more)