Italy's consumer confidence rebounded in January to 98 from a December low of 96.4. At this level the January reading for consumer confidence is still below its level of November 2013- not really much of a bounce. The level ranks in [...]
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| Jan 28 2014Under Pressure, Italian Confidence Rallies A Bit
- Global| Jan 27 2014
Germany's Ifo Is Still Climbing
Germany's diffusion indices have been at it again as they improved in January compared to December. For business confidence it is the third straight month of month-to-month increases and it is the third straight month of increases for [...]
- Global| Jan 24 2014
Italian Retail Sales Offer Very Slow Progress
Retail sales for Italy in November were flat, marking their best performance since August when sales also were flat. The last increase in Italian retail sales came in May 2013 with a 0.1% rise. Despite the fact that there was a better [...]
- Global| Jan 23 2014
EMU PMIs Continue Higher
The Markit PMI data in their flash incarnation showed an increase in the composite reading for the euro area in January. The composite rose to 53.16 from December's 52.06, marking only the second increase in a row. The composite [...]
- Global| Jan 22 2014
Italian Trade Improves...the Hard Way
Italy's trade surplus grew in November to ?3.8 billion from ?3.7 billion in October. The growing surplus- on the face of it- seems to be evidence that Italy's economy is growing and its competitiveness is improving. However, there is [...]
- Global| Jan 21 2014
ZEW Expectations Back Off in January
The ZEW index which is the result of a survey of financial experts in Germany revealed a slight back off and expectations in January compared to December. The back-office light, but again had been expected. The current conditions [...]
- Global| Jan 17 2014
UK Retail Sales Surge in Holiday Season
UK retail volumes had been strong all year long but in December sales really jumped. Retail sales rose by 2.6% in December alone. That offset two weak months and propelled sales up over three-months at a 7% annual rate. Sales have [...]
- Global| Jan 16 2014
European Auto Sales Ramp Up
Auto registrations in Europe rose smartly in December. EU auto sales rose by 5.2% after falling 8% in November and rising 8.3% in October. However, through all that the volatility is clear net gains in auto sales and registrations. [...]
- Global| Jan 15 2014
EMU Inflation Hugs the Lower Bound
European Monetary Union inflation rose by 0.1% in December after rising at the same pace in November. In October inflation fell by 0.2%. Inflation in the euro zone is both subdued and decelerating. This early in the process we don't [...]
- Global| Jan 14 2014
IP Is Recovering
Manufacturing industrial production in the euro area spurted by 1.9% in November, offsetting two straight months of declines in October and September. Growth rates show acceleration from a 3.2% year-over-year rate to rates of 4.3% [...]
- Global| Jan 13 2014
OECD LEIs Largely Point Higher
The OECD leading economic indicators continue to show progress. Even in China there is some increase in the indicator for November although China is a case of lingering weakness compared to most of the other countries in the sample. [...]
- Global| Jan 10 2014
Volatility Aside EMU IP Is Recovering
A number of European countries now have reported industrial production in the outturn appears to show relatively widespread improvement. If we look at the 12-month gains of the eight EMU members in the table and the three non-members, [...]
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