While sentiment in the EU area advanced again in April, in the EMU there was a setback. Of the 16 reporters, six showed declines in their overall sentiment indices as the overall EMU index fell by 0.2%. Eight of these member countries [...]
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| Apr 29 2015European Commission Indices Show EMU Weakness
- Global| Apr 28 2015
French Household Sector Confidence Rises Further
French household confidence has increased in seven of the last nine months and has gone nine months without a setback to confidence. However, the confidence reading is still weak historically. At 94 the current confidence reading is [...]
- Global| Apr 24 2015
Germany's Ifo Plows Ahead to Moderate 10-Month High; Is Germany's Sluggishness a Barometer for the World?
Germany's Ifo climate gauge is on a 6-month string of increases that has taken that gauge to a 10-month high. At its current position the gauge stands in the 80.5 percentile of its historic queue of values, roughly in the top 20% of [...]
- Global| Apr 23 2015
EMU Upward Momentum Stalls in April
Both the EMU manufacturing and services indices backtracked in April. The overall index fell by one-half point; each component fell by one-half point or less. Yet, for the EMU as a whole, the overall index and each component continue [...]
- Global| Apr 22 2015
Italy's Retail Sales Begin to Show Signs of Life
Italian retail sales continue to make some progress but are still falling year-over-year. The chart makes it clear that advances in confidence have preceded improvements in retail sales. And Italian consumer confidence is on a roll [...]
- Global| Apr 21 2015
ZEW Expectations Are Set Back As the Current Index Surges
The ZEW expectations index was set back unexpectedly in April as it backtracked to 53.3 from March's 54.8. But at the same time the current index moved sharply higher. The one month rise in the current index is the fifth largest one- [...]
- Global| Apr 20 2015
German PPI Still Under Downward Pressure But Abating?
Germany's PPI rose by 0.1% in March, still dropping by 1.7% year-over-year. The chart shows that the year-over-year drop is slightly less than it was a month ago and that the downward progression in the PPI trend may be abating. This [...]
- Global| Apr 17 2015
Has EMU Austerity Been a Success or Failure?
The EMU-wide harmonized index of consumer prices (HICP) fell again in March, marking the fourth consecutive month in which the price index has fallen. Looking at the earliest EMU members that have reported data (in the table below), [...]
- Global| Apr 16 2015
European Auto Registrations Rise Again
European auto registrations popped in January and have continued to build on that strong gain. Monthly registrations are up for four consecutive months. Annual gains are in the 7% to 10% range consistently in 2015 (three months in). [...]
- Global| Apr 15 2015
EMU Trade Surplus Unbalances Global Growth
With global growth sputtering and the euro plunging on foreign exchange markets, the EMU region's trade surplus has reached its second highest point in at least the last 16 years. While everyone is obsessed about how low the euro can [...]
- Global| Apr 14 2015
Rising European Output Struggles to Make Annual Gains
European Monetary Union (EMU) industrial production (excluding construction) rose a smart 1.1% in February, its strongest gain in eight months. Manufacturing output rose by 1.2%, its strongest gain in eight months as well. Still, [...]
- Global| Apr 13 2015
Japan's Retail Sales Rise in February But Can't Shake Weak Trends
Japan is still a struggling economy that has tried various measures to jump start growth while also trying to regain fiscal control. The combination has been frustrating and that frustration continues as retail sales creep higher in [...]
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