The German IFO comprehensive business survey saw its all-sector climate index rise to 5.3 in February from -0.3 in January. The current conditions index improved to 6.5 in February from 3.2 in January. Expectations also improved 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| Feb 22 2021German IFO Remains Weak But Improves
- Global| Feb 19 2021
Flash PMIs Largely Improve But Contractions Linger
PMI values largely improved in February. Yet, for many countries as well as for the EMU, economic contraction remains in place. Germany and the United States are exceptions with each showing PMI values above 50; the U.S. is showing [...]
- Global| Feb 18 2021
Belgian Confidence Ticks Higher
While Belgian confidence ticked higher in February, it remains with a net negative reading and is still largely exceeded by all previous values from 2013 forward. Evaluated versus data since 1991, the Belgian confidence headline [...]
- Global| Feb 17 2021
European Car Registrations Weaken Sharply
Passenger car registrations fell sharply across Europe in January. France logged the smallest fall on the monthly drop of just 1.5% while Spain at -54.7% took the largest month-to-month hit. The pace of sales in January in Europe is [...]
- Global| Feb 16 2021
ZEW Assessments Step Up in February Despite the Virus
The ZEW financial experts have regained their optimism in February. Despite a spreading virus and lockdowns (just ending in Germany) and new variants of the virus (some of which spread faster and more lethal and some of which are [...]
- Global| Feb 12 2021
U.K. IP Fights Off Effects of Brexit and Corona
U.K. IP is fighting off two devastating blows. One is the transition to Brexit that is proving to be less seamless than Boris Johnson led many to believe. The other is the virus that exploded across the U.K. in December. Yet, [...]
- Global| Feb 11 2021
Unemployment Steadies in EMU
Covid-19 has turned the labor market upside down and inside out by jettisoning some of the basic rules on which labor markets operate. Governments have taken on such a large role in the labor market that it is hard to tell sometimes [...]
- Global| Feb 10 2021
French and Italian IP Both Decline in December
Because of the way the calendar flows across the Covid-19 infection cycle, most EMU and most economies in the world show the same patterns for IP and for growth in general over 12 months, six months and three months. Italy and France [...]
- Global| Feb 09 2021
OECD Leading Indicators Advance
The OECD leading indicators rose by a 'tick' to 99.7 in January from 99.6 in December. November was 99.4; October was 99.3. Clearly the strengthening trend continues, but it is a very mild and possibly fragile trend. The pace of [...]
- Global| Feb 08 2021
German IP Is Flat in December: Trends Mixed
German IP data show several diverse and sometimes opposite trends. The graphic depicts year-on-year growth rates over 12 months and those show conditions that are either steadily improving (intermediate goods) or continuing to show [...]
- Global| Feb 05 2021
German Orders Log First Drop since April; Orders Fall 1.9%
German factory orders fell by 1.9% in December, their first monthly drop since April of last year. Of course, orders fell sharply in March and April of last year as the virus struck and struck hard – some places harder than others. [...]
- Global| Feb 04 2021
Euro Area Retail Sales Make Minor Rebound
Retail sales rose in December but did not gain back all the ground lost in November’s drop. December brought a month-to-month gain in sales volume of 2% in the wake of November’s 5.7% monthly drop. In fact, retail sales growth rates [...]
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