The German Ifo survey slipped to an index level of 110.4 in May from 111.2 in April. Both the current situation and the business expectations components fell on the month. The index and its components still are well above their [...]
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| May 23 2014German Ifo Slips
- Global| May 22 2014
Flash PMIs Show EMU Progress and a Lagging France
The flash PMI for the euro area ticked down to 53.9 in May from 54.0 in April. The services reading rose to 53.5 from 53.1 while the manufacturing reading slipped to 52.5 from 53.4. From mid-2011, the May composite reading is the [...]
- Global| May 21 2014
European Trade Trends Show Divergence
European Union member trade trends have shifted from their past trends early in 2014. The exports of Finland, Portugal, France and Germany have turned lower after showing signs that the growth rate of exports may have bottomed in [...]
- Global| May 20 2014
UK Inflation Trends Cruise Just Below 2%...Finally
Inflation in the United Kingdom is finally starting to settle down. The harmonized price index for April rose 0.2% after a 0.1% increase in March. The three-month inflation rate is 1.7% at an annual rate compared to 1.5% over six- [...]
- Global| May 19 2014
Japan's Machinery Orders Hit Slow Patch Despite Appearances
Overall Japanese machinery orders recovered in March, rising 4% from February's 3.3% drop after an 8.1% gain in January. Core orders (which exclude categories like ships and electric power) made a better recovery, rising 19.1% [...]
- Global| May 16 2014
In Europe Auto Sales Rebound! Are Auto Sales/Registrations a Barometer of Growth?
Perspective: As we get excited about the return to growth in Europe, or at least hope that it will return to growth after what was a worse-than-expected first-quarter, it's important to look back and think of days gone by. While I [...]
- Global| May 15 2014
IP Drops, Trend Still strong; But Does That Matter?
Industrial output's trend slowed in April, as output fell by 0.6% following a 2% spurt in March. Utilities' output fell sharply by 5.2% after a 0.3% gain in March. Mining output continues to be strong, slowing to a 1.4% gain after a [...]
- Global| May 15 2014
Q1 GDP Release Ends Land of Make-Believe
The euro area put in a disappointing performance in the first quarter of 2014 as GDP is only rising at a 0.8% annual rate. Among the early reporters, GDP declined in Portugal, dropped sharply in the Netherlands, fell in Italy and fell [...]
- Global| May 14 2014
EMU IP Shows Growth But Also Its Weak Side
Industrial production momentum in the euro area has been short-circuited in March. Industrial production excluding construction fell by 0.3%. Combined with a decline in January, the three-month growth rate logs a -0.8% annual rate. [...]
- Global| May 13 2014
ZEW Expectations Step Back Sharply
The ZEW survey of current conditions and expectations for May is producing striking results. While the current index continues to show improvement rising to 62.1 in May from 59.5 in April and 51.3 in March, expectations have been cut [...]
- Global| May 12 2014
French Outlook Is Trimmed
The Bank of France survey backtracked in April, falling to a value of 97.83 from March's 98.89. The index has a percentile standing in its historic range of 38.4%; it is weaker than its April standing only about 38% of the time. The [...]
- Global| May 09 2014
Japan's LEI Shows Sharp Drop
Japan's leading economic indicator fell to 106.5 in March from 108.7 in February. The indicator is now declining at a 19.1% annual rate over three months and a 6.8% annual rate over six months. Over 12 months the index is crawling [...]
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