German industrial production in May fell for the third month in a row. The trends for overall industrial production are now showing a steady decline from 1.2% over 12 months, to -3.3% over six months, to -10.9% over three months. The [...]
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| Jul 07 2014German IP Marks Third Drop in a Row
- Global| Jul 03 2014
U.S. Trade Trends Converge Temporarily
The US merchandise trade deficit contracted to $44.4 billion in May from $47 billion in April. On the month, exports rose by 1% as imports fell by 0.3%, providing the impetus for the trade balance contraction. Merchandise exports grew [...]
- Global| Jul 03 2014
EMU PMIs Show Growth Slowdown
The market diffusion indicators for the euro area show backing off of the composite index in June. The composite index fell to 52.8 in June from 53.5 in May while May itself reflected a deterioration from April's level of 54.0. It's [...]
- Global| Jul 02 2014
EMU PPI Is Still Weak
PPI trends in the EMU continue to push lower. The chart shows that only intermediate goods inflation trend has a small upturn in recent months. In May the PPI (excluding construction) rose by 0.1% after a 0.2% April increase. Still, [...]
- Global| Jul 01 2014
EMU Manufacturing PMIs Turn Lower in June
The chart on the left makes it quite clear that manufacturing in the euro area has turned lower, according to the Markit manufacturing PMIs. France, after lingering behind Germany and the EMU totals, surged to its cycle high two [...]
- Global| Jun 30 2014
German Retail Sales Contract Again as All Growth Rates Turn Lower
German retail trends are turning lower as three-month, six-month and twelve-month growth rates are all sub-zero. Moreover, sequentially the sales drop is getting progressively larger. Even car registrations are showing a sharp [...]
- Global| Jun 27 2014
EU and EMU Sentiment Gauges Drop in June
The EU Commission indices for June 2014 show a slight decline in the reading for the overall European Union (EU) and a slightly larger decline for the countries of the European Monetary Union (EMU). The sector-wide indices for the EU [...]
- Global| Jun 26 2014
French Household Confidence Picks Up but by Very Little
Household confidence in France improved to 86 in June from 85 in May. However, it is still below its level of 88 in March 2014. The index level sits in the lower 16th percentile of its historic queue of data. This tells us that it has [...]
- Global| Jun 25 2014
German GfK Consumer Climate Improves as ZEW and Ifo Drop
The GfK German consumer confidence indicator rose to 8.9 in July from 8.6 in June. This forward looking indicator sits in the top 3% of its historic queue. Its components that lag by one month are also quite strong. The economic [...]
- Global| Jun 24 2014
Ifo Sends Warning Signal for Germany
Germany's Ifo index's expectation component dropped sharply to 6.0 in June from 8.6 in May. The index has dropped sharply over the last two months. Historically, its two-month drop is greater than this only about 17% of the time. The [...]
- Global| Jun 23 2014
EMU Gets a Setback; France Lags Badly
The overall EMU private sector activity index fell in June, dropping for the second month in a row. Both manufacturing and services components weakened although each continued to show expansion in its respective sector. Germany's [...]
- Global| Jun 20 2014
EMU Current Account Surplus Widens on Dangerous Trends
The EMU current account surplus widened month-to-month and is higher year-over-year. The balance of trade in goods is in surplus and it widened month-to-month as well as year-over-year. The services balance is also in surplus and is [...]
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