Another late-night Brussels meeting, though this one less shambolic than last week’s. The eurogroup announced it had managed to add up some numbers on a spreadsheet that has been kicking around and agree a debt reduction deal for Greece.

The IMF, which had been digging its heels over the need for the other two troika members to fill Greece’s financing gap, professed itself satisfied, even though the Greek debt:GDP ratio was projected at 124% in 2020 rather than the 120% the Fund had apparently drawn as a line in the sand two weeks ago.

Actually, as we reported after last week’s inconclusive eurogroup meeting, the Fund had already backed away from the 120% target in return for sharper reductions in the years following. That suggests it probably wasn’t a good idea to make a fuss about the figure in the first place, as it now makes it appear that, for the nth time, the IMF gave its assent to a deal it wasn’t happy with. Read more

If anyone should understand the benefits of open markets, it is a central bank. The Canadian Mark Carney’s appointment as Bank of England governor (unexpected, mainly because he had said he wasn’t interested) is a significant step even for a country that has had German, Swedish and Italian national football coaches, a Zimbabwean national cricket coach and various Dutch and German heads of state.

But it is not unprecedented. The Bank of England (more accurately HM Treasury, which makes these appointments) has form in bringing in foreigners. Read more