There are not too many different ways to look at the ongoing weakness in Japan. All sectors are weakening and in all cases the drop off has been relatively severe. The headline index stands only in the 33rd percentile of its historic [...]
Introducing
Robert Brusca
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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| Jun 19 2014Activity Tapers off in Japan
- Global| Jun 18 2014
EMU's Construction Sector Lags and Weakens
The construction sector in the European Monetary Union backtracked in May. The index which already signaled contraction slipped to a weaker 43.3 in May from 44.4 in April. Diffusion indices signal expansion when their values exceed 50 [...]
- Global| Jun 17 2014
ZEW Expectations Stumble Again
Germany's ZEW current conditions reading rose to 67.7 in June from 62.1 in May. The June current conditions reading is higher only about 9.4% of the time. On the other hand, the expectations reading fell significantly to 29.8 from [...]
- Global| Jun 16 2014
EMU Inflation Continues to Sink
Inflation in the European Monetary Union continues to fall. In May the overall index for the EMU was flat after rising by just 0.1% in April and falling by 0.1% in March. The core reading excluding energy and unprocessed food fell by [...]
- Global| Jun 13 2014
EMU Trade Trends Give Us Pause
The current account surplus in the European Monetary Union increased slightly in April as imports fell more sharply than exports, which also fell. The recent report on EMU industrial production showed that the European Union is making [...]
- Global| Jun 12 2014
Inflation in EMU and Differences among Members
The finalized figures in industrial production show that the European Monetary Union made a nice bounce back from previous weakness. Perhaps this will take some pressure off of the European Central Bank. However, on the inflation [...]
- Global| Jun 11 2014
UK Claimant Count Continues to Decline
The UK economy continues to make progress. According to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), a respected think tank in the United Kingdom, the UK economy has surpassed its pre-recession peak reached in [...]
- Global| Jun 10 2014
IP in France Makes Partial Recovery; Italy Nets a Gain
France saw its industrial production (IP) gain strongly in April, but it still did not fully shake off the drop in March. Italian IP is in the same boat in April as its 0.4% gain is less than its 0.5% drop in March. However, Italy has [...]
- Global| Jun 09 2014
Canadian Housing Starts Show Some Spunk and Promise
Housing starts in Canada rebounded by a huge 24.7% in April after falling by 18.2% in March. Volatility around this time of year is normal for Canada. Sometimes it comes in Jan/Feb; this year it came a month later. Momentum in starts [...]
- Global| Jun 06 2014
German Exports Surge ahead and Balloon Trade Surplus
German exports surged by 3% in April as imports edged ahead by just 0.1%. This combination sent the German trade surplus to ?17.7 billion in April, up from ?14.99 billion in March. Over 12 months. German exports and imports are [...]
- Global| Jun 05 2014
German Orders Bounce Back
German orders rebounded strongly in April, rising by 3.1% after dropping by 2.8% in March. Domestic orders were flat in April, after falling by 0.6% in March. Foreign orders have recovered, rising by 5.5% after falling by 4.5% in [...]
- Global| Jun 04 2014
Euro Area Private Sector Weakens in May
The total PMI for the European Monetary Union slipped to 53.5 in May from 54.0 in April. However, the 12-month, six-month and three-month moving averages continue to show steadily stronger readings on the shorter horizons. At the [...]
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