Fat Chance… The EMU FLASH HICP is at an all time low skinny 0.6% gain Yr/Yr. If it were human we’d say it is anorexic. Italy also got on the board with a weak HICP, posting the lowest reading since ‘Ed Sullivan’ and ‘Leave it to [...]
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| Mar 30 2009EMU Still Sinking In EU Index Report
In the EMU framework it is pretty clear that things are not going very well. In the March report even though the Markit (formerly Reuter) PMIs had bottomed and risen, the similar gauges from the EU Commission show no such trend. [...]
- Global| Mar 27 2009
EMU Orders: Still Sinking Fast
Egad! Still very weak: Euro industrial orders continued their steep rate of decline in January. The 3.4% mo/mo drop was less than the 8% plunge in December and the 9.4% stunner in November, but it fell far short of being reassuring. [...]
- Global| Mar 26 2009
UK Retail Sales Fall But Trend Holds Up
If there is an enigmatic economy right now it is the UK’s. The central bank is very worried about deflation and economic weakness. Yet the last retail prices report showed inflation up sharply and the core rate stubborn. While surveys [...]
- Global| Mar 25 2009
IFO Index Drops But Sentiment Drops But Sentiment Makes Some Gains
The IFO Index fell again in March but the IFO expectations index rose. Expectations are still only in the 16th percentile with this ongoing bounce. The overall business climate and the current situation indices are at lows. The chart [...]
- Global| Mar 24 2009
Flash PMIs Bottom Out
The manufacturing and Services indices from Markit show that Euro Area PMIs have risen form the bottoms in this cycle. The moves are small and the included chart demonstrates that the move is without much vigor. The services sector is [...]
- Global| Mar 24 2009
UK Inflation Accelerates
UK inflation spurted in February quite unexpectedly. As the table shows, the month-to-month acceleration is quite widespread. UK core inflation continues to hover below the key 2% level, although it has ticked up this month too. [...]
- Global| Mar 20 2009
IP In Zone In Record Drop
It is the largest drop in e-Zone IP since records have been kept. Intermediate goods, capital goods and consumer goods output trends are being clobbered. Each sector is worsening sequentially. Each of the countries displayed: Germany, [...]
- Global| Mar 19 2009
UK Orders Decline To New Low But Pace Of Decline Slows... Sort Of
The UK CBI survey for industry shows a new low at -58. Exports also are on a new low despite the weakness in sterling that should aid competitiveness. New orders slipped to -58 in March from -56 in February. The outlook index [...]
- Global| Mar 18 2009
January IP Drops but the Pace of Decline Slows
Italy’s industrial production (IP) dropped again in January but the decline was puny in comparison with the recent string of monthly disasters. This month’s drop of 0.2% keeps the string of declines alive but, ironically, gives some [...]
- Global| Mar 16 2009
HICP Is Behaving Despite Month's Rise
Inflation in the Area rose in February but at 1.2% the Yr/yr pace of inflation remained well in check. Core inflation at 1.7% is confirming that tepid reading. Three-month inflation and service sector inflation ticked up over three- [...]
- Global| Mar 13 2009
E- Area Retailing Remains Weak
The E-Area consumer remains under pressure and the retail sales picture reflects that. Even so, retailing is hardly the weakest sector in the Area. The output sector – factories- are much weaker. Exports are much weaker. Retail sales [...]
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