The IFO sector readings are plunging and the overall indices are weak as well. In September the business expectations index remains in the lower 13 percentile of its range. The current situation is mid range at the 51st percentile. [...]
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| Sep 24 2008Germany Shows Extreme Weakness Like the Rest of Europe
- Global| Sep 23 2008
European PMIs Remain Weak
Surveys show that both the MFG and services PMI’s slipped in September. But the MFG PMI fell harder. Still, over this relatively short horizon (since January 2006) this is the weakest reading on record for services. For MFG it is the [...]
- Global| Sep 22 2008
Japan's All Industries Index Rises
Japan’s all-industries index and tertiary index are up in the month and still very high in their historic ranges going back to the early 1990s. By contrast the construction sector is extremely weak with little evidence of any [...]
- Global| Sep 19 2008
German PPI Drops But Still Has Lots of Upward Momentum
The upward pressure on the PPI abated for one month but the longer term momentum is still very clear. The PPI headline fell by a harp 0.5% but that index is still up by 8.1% year-over-year and at a faster pace over three months and [...]
- Global| Sep 19 2008
German PPI Drops But Still Has Lots of Upward Momentum
The upward pressure on the PPI abated for one month but the longer term momentum is still very clear. The PPI headline fell by a harp 0.5% but that index is still up by 8.1% year-over-year and at a faster pace over three months and [...]
- Global| Sep 18 2008
UK Retail Sales in Surprise Rise for Second Month Running
Ironically even with the second strong month of sales increases the three-month growth rate for retail sales in the UK is plunging. Barometers and surveys of retail sales have been weak, so the rise in each of the past two months was [...]
- Global| Sep 17 2008
Orders Just Fall Off the Table in the UK
Orders overall and export orders have fallen off very sharply from August to September. The decline of 16 points in month-to-month export orders in September is a record going back to 1988. This drop occurs in the face of a weakening [...]
- Global| Sep 15 2008
Italy's Inflation Hangs High
Italy’s inflation trends have yet to show decisive signs of turning lower. Italy’s total CPI is still pressing higher. The HICP Core rate shows a more hopeful sign of inflation topping but it shows no clear sign either of moving [...]
- Global| Sep 12 2008
Europe's IP Drops Yet Again…
E-zone industrial output is down for three months running. All sectors are lower m/m in July. Main EU/EMU countries have output lower in July with France and Spain as exceptions. But over three months all these large countries are [...]
The BOF indicator has been weak and it has been weakening. But in August the indicator put on the brakes, and actually rebounded. While every other EMU country is cutting, chopping or shaving its forecast the BoF has held firm on its [...]
- Global| Sep 11 2008
Japan Machinery Orders Go Sour
Japan’s machinery orders fell sharply in July while the so called core order series fell, but by less than had been expected. Domestic orders have been listless for a year while foreign orders have been getting quite weak since early [...]
- Global| Sep 10 2008
French IP is Jumping but not for Joy
French IP made a surprise jump of 1.2% in July but only after a larger decline in June and in the wake of a plunge in May and so that the rise has not restored any momentum to the outlook. The sequential growth rates show a steady [...]
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