Bloomberg is reporting that , according to Irish bookmaker Paddy Power, “Zoellick’s odds of getting the job are 13-8, better than U.S. deputy Treasury secretary Robert Kimmitt at 7-4″
Other contenders for the World Bank presidency include:
Stanley Fischer with odds of 5-1;
Jim Leach, at 8-1; and
Richard Lugar at 10-1.
Bono is a long shot at 100-1 whilst soon-to-be unemployed PM Tony Blair has seen his odds gone from 10-1 to 20-1.
Considering the declaration from GWB that the position should go to an American ( 16% of the shares), the favourites for the bets will focused on the members of the short list of Americans whose names are being pegged by different groups including those being flaunted by the US media.
According to Bodog.com, the betting odds are as follows:
Tony Blair: 6/1
Ashraf Ghan: 5/1
Kemal Dervish: 7/1
Ernesto Zedillo: 8/1
Trevor Manuel: 12/1
Montek Singh Ahluwalia: 11/1
Leszek Balcerowicz: 15/1
Arminio Fraga: 8/1
Bono: 50/1
Any American Born Candidate: 5/6 and the odds are broken down as:
Zoellick:3/1
Kimmit:4/1
Paulson:11/2
Leach:6/1
Lugar:6/1
Fischer:3/1
Volcker:7/1