From the end of 2012, EMU year-on-year real GDP has been gradually accelerating. In Q2 2015, it reached a growth rate of 2.0%. Then it slipped slightly below 2% for the next four quarters. In 2017 the 2% growth rate was back and has [...]
Introducing
Robert Brusca
in:Our Authors
Robert A. Brusca is Chief Economist of Fact and Opinion Economics, a consulting firm he founded in Manhattan. He has been an economist on Wall Street for over 25 years. He has visited central banking and large institutional clients in over 30 countries in his career as an economist. Mr. Brusca was a Divisional Research Chief at the Federal Reserve Bank of NY (Chief of the International Financial markets Division), a Fed Watcher at Irving Trust and Chief Economist at Nikko Securities International. He is widely quoted and appears in various media. Mr. Brusca holds an MA and Ph.D. in economics from Michigan State University and a BA in Economics from the University of Michigan. His research pursues his strong interests in non aligned policy economics as well as international economics. FAO Economics’ research targets investors to assist them in making better investment decisions in stocks, bonds and in a variety of international assets. The company does not manage money and has no conflicts in giving economic advice.

Publications by Robert Brusca
Global| Oct 31 2017
EMU GDP: Settles Into Growth Path
Global| Oct 30 2017
EU Commission Indexes Climb But Slow Their Rate of Ascent
The EU commission indexes are still rising with gains posted in each of the sector or special function indexes in October. Retailing gained three points month-to-month; construction gained two points; the industrial and service [...]
Global| Oct 27 2017
French Consumer Confidence Continues to Move South (Not the South of France)
French consumer confidence from INSEE continued to step back in October, falling to 100 from September's 101. Confidence had spiked at 108 in the midst of French election fever; however, June was a one-hit wonder as confidence jumped [...]
Global| Oct 27 2017
French Consumer Confidence Continues to Move South (Not the South of France)
French consumer confidence from INSEE continued to step back in October, falling to 100 from September's 101. Confidence had spiked at 108 in the midst of French election fever; however, June was a one-hit wonder as confidence jumped [...]
Global| Oct 26 2017
ECB Meets and Makes Plan to Reduce Purchases; Germans Are Hot But Money and Credit Are Not
The chart shows that year-on-year growth rates for money and credit flows in the EMU have stabilized at less-than-strong growth rates. Both have steadied over the past year with money growth at a pace of about 5% and credit growth at [...]
Global| Oct 25 2017
German IFO Survey Continues with Exceptional Readings
Back to normal? The German economy is, in some sense, back to normal even as it does excessively well! From mid-2015 through early-2017, the highest diffusion reading has been in wholesaling. But in March 2017, the raw diffusion score [...]
Global| Oct 24 2017
EMU Manufacturing Is Off to the Races While Services Lag
The EMU composite index fell back to 55.9 in October from 56.7 in September. The reading is still strong and it's the sixth highest composite score for the EMU since January 2012. The reading, the result of a manufacturing gauge that [...]
Global| Oct 23 2017
U.K. Industrial Situation Deteriorates
U.K. orders fell to -2 in October from a level of 7 in September, dropping into negative territory (the number of firms saying orders are expanding is lower than the number that is saying orders are contracting). But the -2 reading is [...]
Global| Oct 20 2017
Five-Month High for German PPI; Is Inflation or Trouble Brewing?
In the short run, oil prices drive a lot of the changes in Germany's PPI. Over the past three months, Brent prices have been steady rising and that has passed on an impact for rising prices to the PPI. While the German headline PPI is [...]
Global| Oct 19 2017
Japan's Trade Surplus Erodes Slightly As Nominal Imports Outpace Exports
Japan ran its 24th consecutive surplus on its trade account in September. The three-month moving average of the trade balance is beginning to recover after hovering in the 300 billion yen to 359 billion yen range from mid-2016 to [...]
Global| Oct 18 2017
U.K. Unemployment Rate and Claimant Count Drop As BOE Prepared to an Uncertain Future
U.K. unemployment statistics have been pointing to labor market strength for some time. There are various measures of labor market conditions, ranging from several unemployment rate definitions to the claimant count. According to all [...]
Global| Oct 17 2017
Germany Has Become the High Inflation Country in EMU
German inflation year-to-date is at 1.8%. Among the original EMU members, that pace is exceeded only by Austria at 2.3%, Belgium and Luxembourg each at 2%, and Spain at 1.9%. Seven other of the original EMU member countries plus [...]
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