It was during the South Sea bubble that someone set up “a company for carrying out an undertaking of great advantage, but nobody to know what it is”. That stock promoter in 1720 raised £2,000 and then did a runner to France.
Christine Lagarde is not going to make off with the $430bn-plus in new resources that she has just collected for the International Monetary Fund, and agreement was general about the “great advantage” to raising them. It was less obvious, however, for exactly what undertaking those funds are destined.
The extra IMF resources brought a pleasing sense of activity to the spring meetings of the World Bank and Fund. Tricky talks were orchestrated over the course of a month; power plays attempted; and finally everyone gathered in a room where deals were done. The end result was a large number and clear international action to set against the new round of market jitters in Spain.