1 Deal collapse threatens WTO future (Katie Allen
& Angela Monaghan in The Guardian) The future of the World Trade
Organisation has been thrown into doubt after eleventh-hour attempts to salvage
a global trade deal collapsed. Talks broke down after India's refusal to back a
deal unless it included concessions allowing developing countries freedom to
subsidise and stockpile food.
An agreement on the deal, centred on loosening
global customs rules, had been reached in Bali in December, with a deadline of
midnight on Thursday to ratify it. But it was scuppered after the WTO's 160
members failed to reach agreement over India's demands. It would have been the
first global trade deal reached by the Geneva-based institution since it was
founded almost two decades ago.
The last-minute failure to reach agreement prompted
questions over the very existence of the WTO and how it will survive the
deadlock. Admitting defeat, Roberto Azevêdo, the director general, said:
"What this means for the WTO will be in the hands of the members. I think
we should take the time to reflect and come back in September."
Created in 1995, the WTO was set up to help trade
flow smoothly and freely around the world. It describes its main tasks as
facilitating trade negotiations and handling trade disputes. But experts say
failure on this key agreement risks consigning it to the status of a referee
for disputes and could see it ceasing to exist as a forum for serious trade
liberalisation talks.
2 How South Africa farms are dying (Graeme Hosken in
Johannesburg Times) Rural areas in South Africa are in a "death
spiral", with thousands of farmers abandoning their land. Of the 276, 000
farming units in Gauteng, including large-scale and small intensive farming
units, 70% lie unused as farms - most standing idle or being used as scrapyards
and second-hand car dealerships.
Emerging farmers are among the most squeezed, with
hundreds quitting, and claiming that the government has "abandoned"
them, with no skills and little access to markets. The revelations come at a
time when Rural Development and Land Reform Minister Gugile Nkwinti has
published controversial proposals requiring commercial farmers to hand over
half their land to farmworkers.
Agri-Gauteng CEO Derrick Hanekom said Gauteng was in
big trouble with abandoned land. "Land carryover from old to new owners
was done haphazardly... land was given to communities who are not farmers and
who, because of a lack of skills, are unable to farm. President of the African
Farmers Association of SA Mike Mlengana slammed the government. "Farms
were and are viewed as weekend party destinations. The consequence is that
farms that have the potential to produce vitally needed food are neglected. "The
prevalence of abandonment is unbelievable, with some areas recording 100%
abandonment.
Professor Johan Willemse of the University of the
Free State agricultural economics department said the government's agricultural
policies needed urgent revising. "They are plunging the country's rural
towns into a death spiral with farms collapsing.” He said the implication of
farm expansion and mechanisation was the collapse of rural towns, whose
residents were heavily reliant on farms for jobs. Already South Africa imports
half of its wheat requirement.
3 India’s Roy attempts a property deal from prison (Aditi
Malhotra & Saurabh Chaturvedi in The Wall Street Journal) How tough is it
to do a billion-dollar deal from prison? India’s Sahara Group’s caged chairman,
Subrata Roy, is about to find out. Indian courts have thrown Mr. Roy –one of
India’s richest and most controversial businessmen – into New Delhi’s notorious
Tihar Jail until he finds a way to pay the billions of dollars the group owes
to bond holders.
An Indian court, which denied him temporary bail to
do any deals, now says it will let him negotiate from prison. India’s Supreme
Court asked Tihar Jail to facilitate online negotiations. Mr. Roy will be given
a computer with a web camera and an Internet connection in a big conference
room near the office of the director general of the prison.
Mr. Roy will be allowed to wear what he likes for
the negotiations. It is unclear whether he will choose one of his signature
black vests as he sits down with potential buyers and lenders. The Sahara group
has said in court that it has been looking at various options, including a sale
and mortgage of Grosvenor House hotel in London and the Plaza and Dream
Downtown hotel in New York.
Mr. Roy and two directors of Sahara, which has
business interests in sectors from financial services to media to retail, were
sent to jail in March after the group failed to comply with a court order on
repaying 174 billion rupees to bondholders. The Securities and Exchange Board
of India says Sahara’s bond offerings didn’t follow rules. Sahara denies the
charge.
4 Seven hiring mistakes to avoid (Jacquelyn Smith in
San Francisco Chronicle) Hiring mistakes can be extremely costly. There are
easy ways to avoid the seven most common hiring mistakes, says Mike Del Ponte, cofounder and "chief
hydration officer" of Soma, an eco-friendly water filtration system.
Mistake 1: Over-valuing cultural fit. "Remember
that the goal is to hire the most competent employee, not the most
likeable," he says. Mistake 2: Rushing the hiring process. "Typically,
you need at least six weeks to attract and vet enough high-quality
candidates." Mistake 3: Not asking for enough references. It’s helpful to
get references for peers and people who worked for the candidate, Del Ponte
says.
Mistake 4: Not having a formal process. Lack of
process can allow the hunt for candidates to go far too long or let bad
candidates slip through the cracks. Mistake 5: Hiring generalists. Sometimes
you need to hire generalists — especially if your company is young — "but
you should quickly grow out of this phase and focus on only hiring
specialists," Del Ponte says.
Mistake 6: Not having clarity on the role that is
being filled. If you do not have the fine details of the role,
responsibilities, and milestones you desire, you're not ready to start recruiting.
Mistake 7: Relying on job posts. The best candidates are rarely looking for a
job. "You need to work your network to get introductions to people who can
accomplish your goals, even if they don't yet know they want to work for
you," says Del Ponte. "Make a list of advocates who can help you grow
your candidate pool."
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