My Interest Rates Are Rising...In My Pants!

Dominique Strauss-Kahn is the quintissential Euro-insider: head of the IMF, "Socialist," married to a glamorous journalist, potential president of France. And, of course, he has a way with the ladies. In fact, according to a recently published book, you could say his attitude towards extra-marital sex reflects a very loose and accommodative policy: Dominique Strauss Khan In Sex Book Claims

The book claims the 61-year-old Mr Strauss-Kahn – married to Anne Sinclair, a famous French TV presenter - has had a string of extra-marital affairs and that photographs exist of him coming out of a wife-swapping club.

Frédéric Lefebvre, a Sarkozy adviser, boasted in 2007 that he had seen photographs of DSK, as the French call him that would wreck any presidential bid. "He wouldn't last a week," Mr Lefebvre said. "We'll circulate them." The book, Secrets of a Presidential Contender, is by an anonymous French author calling herself Cassandre, and who claims to be in DSK's inner circle of advisers.

She writes: "He is always on the hunt for new women.

"He is a pleasure seeker. Like all great political animals, he has trouble controlling himself.

"His eye for women is sharp as a laser. When he enters a cafe, an office or any public place, the ritual is the same.

"He does a little survey, turning his head almost imperceptibly to the left, then to the right, while carrying on talking. It lasts only a few seconds, just enough time to evaluate his chances.

"After identifying his prey, he bombards them with text messages, usually with the opening salvo 'I want you'.

Hubba Hubba. Careful readers of the financial press may recall that DSK got in trouble during the depths of the crash of '08 when he had an affair with a (married) economist who worked with him. Not only was DSK accused of favoritism towards his paramour, the affair was seen at the time as diminishing his credibility at a time when it was needed most. Plus, how can you trust a central banker whom you couldn't trust around your own wife? But, that's the magic of being a "socialist." You can live like an old-fashioned potentate, so long as you mouth the right words about equality and justice.

And for you young bucks who think becoming a central banker opens up a world of sensual delights, here is a photo of Piroska Nagy, the Hungarian economist who got DSK in trouble:

Better stick with becoming a rock star.