German GDP drops -German GDP drops by 2.1% saar in 2008-Q3. As has been the case in Germany for sometime, the Bundesbank continues to blame the thrust of events on outside forces. Germany's Bundesbank said that the global growth [...]
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| Nov 13 2008
German GDP Drops in Q3
Global| Nov 12 2008
Euro Area Production Tanks in September
Euro Area industrial output (IP) fell sharply in October dropping by its largest amount in over five years. In Sept MFG IP is dropping across all major product groupings just as it did in August and nearly did so in July. In the EMU [...]
Global| Nov 10 2008
OECD Slowdown is Broad-Based and More Severe
The OECD trend-adjusted cyclical leading indicators showed a clear pattern of growth deteriorating in the OECD region. The downturn is of increasing severity. Even Japan after a brief flirtation with improving is getting weaker again. [...]
Global| Nov 10 2008
IP Dropping Fast in Key EMU Countries
EMU IP is sinking fast. Add Italy and France to the list of large EMU countries with industrial output dropping like a stone. The Q3 growth rates for IP in France and in Italy each are negative, Italy’s drop is at a huge -8.4% pace [...]
German officials have officially ended their excursion trip with optimism. During their journey through fantasy land, they did take their turns in showing how wrong they can be. From the start of the US slowing, they thought Europe [...]
Global| Nov 05 2008
Services Sectors Tank in US and in Europe
The chart serves as yet another reminder as to why it has been loopy for observers to have insisted that Europe and the US had become disconnected economically – the so-called de-coupling argument. The MFG sectors across countries are [...]
Global| Nov 03 2008
MFG is HOW Weak? Worst Since at Least March 2000 Across Much of EMU
The e-Zone economy shrank by 0.2% in 2008-Q2 and further weakness lies ahead according to the EU Commission. The EU Commission issued a statement warning that “In 2009, the EU economy is expected to grind to a standstill.’ The [...]
Global| Oct 31 2008
German Retail Sales Run Soft
The German consumer has kept a stiff upper lip according to the November reading on the consumer from GfK. Still the consumer has been stiffening more than just his and her lip. The old wallet seems to have become a bit less pliable [...]
Global| Oct 30 2008
EU Indices Are Scraping Low Levels: It Will Get Worse…
The news this month for the EU/EMU region is bad. The EU reading is in the bottom 10% of its range of value. The EMU reading is a bit better, in the bottom 17% of its range. Both are quite weak. The drop in the index is the largest [...]
Global| Oct 29 2008
Japan’s Industrial Output Recoups Some of Loss
Japan’s IP fell sharply by 3.5% in August, but it has made a substantial rebound in September. Still the trends for IP all are lower, as the sequential growth rates in the table below show. The rebounds by sector in September are only [...]
Global| Oct 27 2008
Money Supply Growth Stabilizes
Europes money supply growth and credit growth do not show signs of further slowing in September. Growth is slower that it has been over the past 12months but 3-month growth rates are about the same or a bit higher than 6-month rates [...]
Global| Oct 24 2008
Europe's PMIs Are Weak- Showing Contraction!
Europe’s PMIs are now weak. They are at or near the lows we have seen since the services PMI was issued in July of 1998. Both service sand MFG PMIs are below their respective neutral readings of 50 and are thus indicating CONTRACTION. [...]
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