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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – President Barack Obama has issued an executive order freezing all assets of the Iranian government and financial institutions being held in the U.S.

In the order, which takes effect Monday, Obama declared that all property and interests in property of the Government of Iran, including the Central Bank of Iran, that are in the United States are blocked and may not be transferred, paid, exported, withdrawn, or otherwise dealt in. Iranian property that comes to the U.S. or taken possession by any U.S. person were also ordered frozen.

Obama directed the Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of State and other U.S. government agencies to implement the order.

The President cited attempts by Iran’s central bank and other banks’ to conceal transactions of sanctioned parties and the weakness of the Islamic country’s anti-money laundering regulations as reason for issuing the order.

But the main aim of the latest sanction is to cripple Iran’s nuclear program that Washington believes is intended to make weapons of mass destruction. Tehran has repeatedly denied that it is building a nuclear bomb saying the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

The United Nations and the European Union had also imposed arms and economic embargo against Iran in an attempt to force Tehran to stop enriching uranium.

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Hedge funds including SAC Capital Advisor LP and Ortus Capital Management Ltd. are expanding in Hong Kong, fueling demand for space and driving rents higher in the world’s most expensive office market.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The International Monetary Fund will interview Mexican Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens ahead of French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde in the fund’s search for a new managing director.

Carstens will be interviewed June 21, the second day of the governor’s two-day scheduled trip to Washington. Lagarde, the bet of the European Union, will have her IMF board interview on June 23.

The IMF pared to two the number of candidates to replace former IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned in May after he was charged by a hotel maid with sexual assault. Strauss-Kahn is waiting trial in New York.

The board, which will decide the fate of Carstens and Lagarde, is made up of 24 directors who represent countries or groups of countries which are members of the fund. The IMF has 187 nation-members.

The two candidates are scheduled to have a bilateral meeting with the IMF on their first day and the interview on the second day.

The candidates are expected to present their views on issues facing the IMF and its members and exchange views with the board members.

The IMF said it will publish Carstens’ and Lagarde’s statements on its website after the meetings. The group will announce its choice by June 30 on who will be its next managing director.

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Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – The International Monetary Fund is considering only two candidates to replace resigned Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

The shortlisted candidates are French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde and Mexican Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens.

Lagarde, the frontrunner, has been making the rounds of developing nations such as India and China in a bid to convince them to vote in her favor. On Monday, it was Carstens’ turn to lobby.

Carstens warned Washington that if Lagarde would be appointed as IMF chief, the fund could face a conflict of interest.

The central bank governor said at a speech before the Peterson Institute for International Economics that the IMF would be perceived as protecting the interests only of European if the fund still lives by a six-decade old backroom agreement that the top IMF post to a European and the leadership of the World Bank to an American.

Carstens told the audience – which includes IMF board members, U.S. government officials and known economists – that the IMF has to work harder to maintain its credibility with developing nations. He said making a European the IMF’s head at this point would create doubt among emerging economies because Europe is apparently weak in overseeing the economies of its member-nations.

He cited as proof the recent IMF loans to Greece, Ireland and Portugal, which were the largest in the fund’s history. This situation, he added, is an indicator that Europeans continue to dominate the IMF, which would be worsened with Lagarde’s appointment as replacement for Strauss-Kahn, who is battling sexual assault charges in New York.

Carstens acknowledged that Lagarde’s chances of clinching the top IMF post are high. He said what his candidacy provides is an option for developing economies to have more say in international bodies such as the IMF.

With the shortlisting of the two, the IMF executive board will soon meet Carstens and Lagarde in Washington, discuss the strengths of two and announce the new IMF managing director by June 30.

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Paris, France (AHN) – There are now two official contenders for the post vacated recently by former International Monetary Fund Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde, who enjoys the support of European nations, officially declared her availability for the top IMF post. She is the second official candidate after Mexico nominated Mexican Central Bank Governor Agustin Carstens earlier this week.

Addressing the growing global call for the IMF to appoint a new managing director based on merit and not geography, Lagarde insisted she is not resting her candidacy on her being a European. She said her geographic origin should not be a plus or minus for her candidacy when the IMF selects who should replace Strauss-Kahn, who resigned over sexual assault charges.

While Lagarde is assured of at least one-third of the votes on the IMF board, directors of the fund representing Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa pushed for an end to the decades-old gentleman’s agreement that the managing director should be a European.

The swing vote could possibly be the U.S., which holds one-fifth of the IMF board votes. However, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner refused to show his cards and commented only that Carstens and Lagarde are talented and credible candidates. However, the White House is expected to support Lagarde’s candidacy.

The 55-year-old Lagarde worked as a lawyer for 25 years before she joined politics in 2005. However, observers said her credentials for the top IMF post are beyond question. She was also a former national synchronized swimming medalist and often described as the rock star of the financial world.

The French finance minister said she officially declared her availability after personal reflection and consultation with French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

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Italy’s Mario Draghi may reach for the German policy manual when he takes the helm of the European Central Bank.

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The euro fell the most in four months against the dollar after European Central Bank President Jean- Claude Trichet signaled he may not raise interest rates next month and concern rose that Greece’s debt crisis is worsening.

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Manila, Metro Manila, Philippines (AHN) – The Philippines registered a higher-than-expected 4.5 percent inflation rate for April on Thursday.

The 12-month high inflation rate prompted the Philippine Central Bank to increase the key lending rate by 25 basis points in a bid to contain inflationary pressure.

The last time the country logged a 4.5 percent inflation rate was in April 2010. For the first four months of 2011, the average inflation rate – triggered by higher prices in most commodity groups – was 4.2 percent, according to the National Statistics Office.

Following the higher inflation rate revelation, the Philippine Central Bank’s Monetary Board adjusted the benchmark lending rate to 4.5 percent, the second 25-basis points increase in two months approved by the board.

The board increased higher interest rates to discourage loans and slow down consumer spending, while encouraging savings.

The aim of the higher interest rate is to limit inflation this year and in 2012 to a range of 3 to 5 percent. Price increases were recorded in the following items:

• Fuel, light and water – 8.8 percent
• Services – 6.5 percent
• Clothing – 1.9 percent
• Housing and repairs – 2.2 percent, and
• Miscellaneous goods – 1.2 percent.

The March and April rate hikes end 20 consecutive months that the Monetary Board kept interest rates at historic low levels since July 2009 to counter the negative impact of the global economic crisis on the country.

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China’s central bank said taming inflation is its top priority, signaling that more tightening is possible even after a manufacturing survey showed that growth may be moderating in Asia’s biggest economy.

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French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s endorsement of Mario Draghi as the next European Central Bank chief pressures German Chancellor Angela Merkel to follow suit or risk rankling her biggest European partners, analysts say.

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