Robert Brusca
Robert Brusca
economy economy-and-economics federal reserve soft spot talked
The Federal Reserve has talked about the economy being in a soft spot -- well, it's really in a soft spot.
compensate energy eventually fact itself month period prices work works
Eventually you have other prices going down to compensate for the fact that energy went up. But that doesn't work itself out in a month or two; it works out over a period of time.
aware energy people prices
People are aware of what energy prices are doing to their pocketbooks, and their company,
economy problems strong
I still have my problems with the economy and how strong it's doing,
direction fed huge step wants
It's not good. It's a huge step back for the Fed. It's not the direction where the Fed wants to go. It's unsettling.
economy-and-economics situation
This is a big leakage for our economy. We're at a very complicated situation with our economy.
rate surprise
It's a surprise -- we thought the unemployment rate would be edging up.
dismiss due extent forgive increase market tobacco willing
A point-three increase is a big increase. ( But ) to the extent the increase was due to tobacco prices, the market may be willing to forgive it, dismiss it, to put it aside.
imports oil rose
Oil is an important culprit. But it is much more than that. Non-oil imports rose by 0.6 percent.
caught cause
LTCM didn't cause this; LTCM got caught up in this,
line
This is very, very much in line with the idea we're slipping into a recession.
inflation
Inflation is very contained; it's not going anywhere.
consumer factors growth income line overall picks special spending tells trend unless
So while some special factors may be boosting spending, the overall trend of spending is well out of line with income growth. This tells us that this spending trend is unsustainable unless consumer income growth picks up sharply.
consumer garlic sales shoot stopping stores tale zombie
The tale of the zombie consumer continues, ... There is no stopping him or her: Can't shoot 'em, stab 'em, or keep 'em away from the stores with garlic -- especially with post-season sales in progress.