Finance Minister Christine Lagarde made headlines when she talked to over two dozen AAPA members on April 13 in an annexe of the Finance Ministry. The timing was excellent, as Lagarde had spent the previous weekend on the phone with her euro-zone counterparts to hammer out details of a recovery package to help Greece out of its debt crisis. Lagarde told us the Greek plan could serve as a template should it ever become necessary to come to the aid of another euro-zone state. She talked about her proposal to better regulate trading in exotic financial instruments that she said are causing volatility in commodities markets, and gave us the low-down on discussions among the Group of 20 countries on taxing banks.
-By David Pearson