In France president Nicolas Sarkozy has just lost majority support in that country’s upper house or senate and his chances of winning re-election next year took a serious knock. The major factor in his woes is the state of the economy and a financial crisis in the system, but there is also the fact that he has acted like a political boss – a title with some nasty historical connotations of scandal and graft and some astonishing similarities with the present-day situation.

Africa and other target regions need to realise that China, already a world economic powerhouse, will emerge in a new globalisation framework that will suit its style of expansion. China’s approach to economic growth and its increasing  influence in the global market gives rise to an emerging Eastern dimension to globalisation where the motivation of profit maximisation is balanced with national objectives and social responsibility, says a top expert.

The 17^th United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change or COP17 – to be held in Durban at the end of November and early December ­– will add some much-needed pace to South Africa’s  ‘Long Walk to Greendom,’ predicts Irvan Damon, Sustainable Energy Society of Southern Africa Ambassador.

The Compliance Institute of South Africa has launched a suite of compliance risk management plans (CRMPs) to guide companies through important pieces of legislation. They provide key risk considerations and minimum compliance standards, while focusing users on the concepts of various laws and providing simple, to-the-point actions.

The agreement between the Botswana Government and De Beers specifying that the world’s biggest and oldest diamond company is moving its rough diamond sorting and trading division, better known as the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) from London to Gaborone, is one of the most important developments in the diamond industry in many years.

While growth remains as our main goal, economic and environmental crisis will persist. A green economy requires us to aim at development rather than growth, through the responsible promotion of justice, the common good, and environmental sustainability, writes Olivia Bina.

The protracted crisis in Europe’s euro zone is about much more than just the sovereign debt of individual countries, its impact on financial markets or on the global economy. Which ever way it goes – greater European integration or a breakup of the union – it is set to change the world as we have  known it since  World War II in the months and immediate years ahead. For now the outcome, however remains fraught with uncertainties.

Oxfam last week launched a major new report, Land and Power, to highlight the growing pace of large-scale land deals abroad, often brokered at the expense of poor communities that lose homes and livelihoods - sometimes violently - with no prior consultation, compensation or means of appeal. Preliminary research indicates as much as 227 million hectares - about the size of Western Europe -may have been sold, leased or licensed in such deals since 2001.

Recent changes to Regulation 28 of the Pension Funds Act serve government policy and investment industry interests, but pay little heed to retirement investors. Although the changes claim to foster prudent investing, the reality falls worryingly short. Revisions around asset limits, pension fund trustee education, and alignment with government policy is especially troubling according to Steven Nathan of 10X Investments.

With the co-operation of the The LR Management Group, we can now bring you the leadership training tool 50 Lessons, which is a powerful force in the world of corporate learning. 50 Lessons is the worlds premier multimedia business resource, offering more than 1 000 personal and authentic video lessons from internationally respected business leaders. It can assist you to increase the utilisation and return on investment of your learning programmes immediately!

Bafana Bafana have made some good strides in the past two years, firstly under the tutelage of Carlos Alberto Parreira and lately under Pitso Mosimane. Yet all will be lost  if South Africa come unstuck and draw or lose against Sierra Leone  at Nelspruit in the all-important 2012 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier on Saturday.

The judgment last week by the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) that trade unions can be held liable for damage caused by violence as a result of strike action, could substantially add to the already clear net loss to workers from what has become known as South Africa’s strike season. They are already registering an effective net loss on individual direct income, but are by far not the only losers. In fact there are no winners in the present wage negotiating patterns.

What promises to be two of the most spectacular match-ups of this year’s Rugby World Cup are set for the weekend, with the Springboks featuring in one of them against Australia. The other humdinger could be between Ireland and Wales on Saturday in the Wellington Regional Stadium starting at 07h00.

The assault by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) on South Africa’s independent judiciary – as with the country’s independent media – is far from over. In fact it is about to get worse. And, by direct implication it is an assault also on the Constitution as the “war” between South Africa’s judges and the country’s political leadership has intensified dramatically in recent weeks.