Why some companies go under and others remain above the water, floating away of the problems!? 

Is it just a matter of perspective, like in the story, "is the glass half full or half empty"!? 

The following items and techniques are missing in most business across the world, condemning them to failure. Many times, analyses focused in competitive advantages, tackle the lack of competitiveness, trying to solve it by lowering the wages or devaluing the currency. Therefore, they try to fake the real problem, by lowering the weights in the balance, and usually in the long run don't solve anything. In order to solve most problems concerning competitiveness, every company and business must incorporate the following into their "DNA - Dynamic Nature and Approach", every day, and into every thing they do:

Capital - The availability of working capital (wc), capital expenditure (capex) and business venture capital to promote the existing and the new start-up's

Management and Organizational Techniques - inducing reliable and verifiable management techniques

Collaboration, both within business/company and abroad

Innovation, built into products, services and management

Sustainability - Manage it and Do all this in a Sustainable way

Competitiveness is enhanced when all of this is set and done. Depending on the roadway that you want to follow, of course, we must have the right incentives that will include:

** Government with the right economic approach towards business;

** Fiscal stability and lower taxes;

** Justice working quickly and in a transparent way;

** State of the art Communications;

** Working Infrastructure concerning housing, warehousing, industry's, factory's, office's, basic services, operational and "well-oiled" port's and airport's , etc...;

** Safety;

** Access to Resources: The need for qualified workers, aditional funding, machinery, materials and the services needed to implement and operate the business that we want;

and others ....

Up with the new (old) economic truth ... The old teachings are alive again!

Down with the old economic truth ...welcome to the new (old) economic basics ... time to look at Production (real production) and to competitiveness, take a look at people and work hard, promote the ability to coordinate efforts, to plan ahead, to innovate, to induce collaboration and value the ones who create the conditions to grow in a sustainable way, giving the new motivation a chance to be contagious and finally to achieve results ... we might be surprised about what we will find and with what we can do.

The Ratings are reflecting it the wrong way. Why?... when they can make it work, measuring it the other way...

When a country accumulates sovereign debt in excess, going over their capacity to repay what they are borrowing, again and again, Rating Agencies say - "this is triple AAA" !!!??? This example and the followings occurred during the past decade, but they haven't learned and it happened during the past 2 years after the pick of the financial crises, and also, it can be seen even in the past 2 months.

When a country accumulates high budget deficits in the last decade, and keeps on doing it every month, and these conditions occur at the same time with an average real growth rate around 1% or less, Rating Agencies say - "this is triple AAA" !!!??? (several examples during 2002-2012)

When, a country recognizes a problem and starts doing something to become solvent, Rating Agencies say this is not Ba or BB, or at least Caa1 or CCC, no, they say "This should be considered as Ca or C (Garbage or Junk)" (!!!???)

When a country which has been downgraded by a Rating agency, start's to correct his budget and trade deficits, finally goes to the market and issue sovereign debt with lower borrowing costs, I say in some hard working cases, this is at least Ba3 or BB-, with a positive outlook. Rating agencies don't agree !?!?!? (many examples during the last year).

The current ratings concerning most countries and public debt are useless. Always arrive late, don't solve nothing, don't help countries to identify their real problems and usually are (the ratings) the source of more problems than the ones that they were supposed to solve.

Perhaps we should save the money that we are paying to rating agencies. It should be put into better use, helping to keep our own budgets under control. This way we will be able to cut expenses without condemning growth. ;)

They (rating agencies) have a chance to reform and transform the work that they have done over the last years, and start doing it in the right way, as it should be!

I say, back to the "OLD...", nowadays, good looking and new...hard working analyses and the specifics about the real economy!" The old teachings are alive again...

That's why:

Down with the old economic truth ...welcome to the new (old) economic basics ... time to look at Production (real production) and to competitiveness, take a look at people and work hard, promote the ability to coordinate efforts, to plan ahead, to innovate, to induce collaboration and value the ones who create the conditions to grow in a sustainable way, giving the new motivation a chance to be contagious and finally to achieve results ... we might be surprised about what we will find and with what we can do.

Photograph by Vincent J. Musi, National Geographic (Herding Family, Turkey)