Draghi to head Europe's bank

EU LEADERS yesterday appointed Italy's Mario Draghi as the next president of the European Central Bank.

The 63-year-old economist and banker will replace Jean-Claude Trichet in November when the Frenchman finishes his eight year stint in the eurozone's top monetary policy post. Another Italian, Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, will leave the ECB's six-member executive board early in a deal that ensured France's backing for Draghi, and will likely see him replaced by a French banker.