Alejandro Rivas-Micoud

It is clear to most observers that the Eurozone is in deep trouble. As the crisis deepens, a potential breakup is no longer considered a hypothetical “dark swan” outlier, but rather a very real and frightening possibility. This is leading savers and investors in “peripheral” nations to move their assets offshore, thus accentuating the crisis. [...]

An Underleveraged Channel for US Exports. The US Trade Deficit. The latest monthly figures show a monthly trade deficit of over $52 billion in January 2012, and over $550 billion in 2011, equivalent to 3.6% of nominal GNP. The US has not had an annual trade surplus since 1973. The Internet. Due to a more [...]

It may seem counter intuitive, but they are not. What they are is “coherent” and the rules and proceses used to interact with them are consistent throughout; so even if you have to “learn” a new methodology of interaction, once you learn it, you are never surprised because it is applied commonly throught the user [...]

Through the commercial launch of Userlytics in 2011, customer insight, customer feedback, and user experience need no longer be a drawn out and logistically complex and costly process to obtain. Traditional focus groups & usability lab studies can now be supplemented by real time insights, garnered with no bias, directly from respondents homes or workplaces, [...]

Why cash is debt The invention of paper money is attributed to China around 806 AD, as a private substitute for a lack of copper. Its usage on a significant scale through public issuance was started in 1023 AD by the Song dynasty. Kublai Khan, by decreeing its acceptance on pain of death, and by [...]

Originally published by the Wall Street Journal In marketing, getting a message across is often more important than how it’s gotten across.  This is doubly true for newcomers into a given market, which not only have to make themselves look good but also overcome the public inclination toward the status quo in the process.  People [...]

Originally published by the Wall Street Journal When a big company starts running ads attacking a smaller one, it’s kind of a backhanded compliment.  On one hand, it lends legitimacy to the smaller company’s efforts.  On the other hand, it’s the kind of attack that requires and immediate and effective response. That’s the situation Alo [...]

Originally published by the Wall Street Journal Spanish telecommunications company Alo continues to push forward into Spain’s crowded telecommunications market, still dominated by former monopoly Telefonica.  The company which employs “USA Solutions” as its tagline is pursuing a bigger market share this time by offering what Americans have taken for granted for a long time: [...]

Originally published by the Wall Street Journal Alo Communicaciones SA burst onto the Spanish telecommunications scene aggressively.  They priced their services at half of market share dominator Telefonica, ran a series of high profile ads, and took steps to bring free local calls to the local scene.  Things are going to slow down for Alo, [...]

Originally published by the Diario Expansión El gigante del WiMax en EEUU aterriza en España con la compra de Basa El operador estadounidense de acceso a Internet con redes inalámbricas Clear Wire prepara su entrada en el mercado español. La compañía, pionera en la utilización de la tecnología WiMax, evolución del acceso sin cables a [...]