The Real Economy Blog

Joseph Brusuelas, Chief Economist, RSM US LLP

@JoeBrusuelas

Joe Brusuelas, “chief economist to the middle market,” is the preeminent voice championing issues and policies facing midsize companies in the United States and around the world. An award-winning economist, Brusuelas has more than 20 years’ experience analyzing U.S. monetary policy, labor markets, fiscal policy, international finance, economic indicators and the condition of the U.S. consumer.

A member of the Wall Street Journal’s forecasting panel, Brusuelas regularly briefs members of Congress and other senior officials regarding the impacts of federal policy on the middle market and the factors by which middle market executives make business decisions. He also frequently offers his insights on the U.S., Canadian and global economies in the financial media. In 2020, he was named one of the 100 most influential economists by Richtopia.

Before joining RSM in 2014, Brusuelas spent four years as a senior economist at Bloomberg L.P. and the Bloomberg Briefs newsletter group, where he co-founded the award-winning Bloomberg Economic Brief. Earlier in his career, he was a director at Moody's Analytics covering the U.S. and global economies for the Dismal Scientist website. He also served as chief economist at Merk Investments L.L.C. and chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal.

RSM US Manufacturing Outlook Index: November was a good month

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The RSM US Manufacturing Outlook Index in November reached its highest level since the spring, indicating a sustained economic recovery should the health crisis not get in the way. Despite snarled global supply chains that have made obtaining goods challenging, the domestic manufacturing sector continues to steam ahead. The RSM manufacturing index ... READ MORE >

Chart of the day: A look at the strategic petroleum reserve

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The price of crude oil was already dropping by the time the Biden administration announced the coordinated effort among allies to release crude oil from their reserves. With roughly 1.05 billion barrels in reserve, some of which are used to meet basic demand each year during hurricanes or other periods of stress, the United States is not in a position to ... READ MORE >

Wholesale gas futures point to decline in retail prices

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Following Tuesday’s announcement of the coordinated release of strategic oil reserves, policymakers and investors are focusing on the indirect—or some would say the actual— target of such an action: consumer retail gasoline prices. Based on the relationship between retail gasoline costs and wholesale gasoline prices, that cost for consumers is likely to ... READ MORE >

What the global coordinated release of petroleum reserves means

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The politics and policy of global inflation will begin to shape markets as major global economies push back in direct and indirect ways on the surging price of oil. Recent jawboning of the oil market by the Biden administration and its global allies has resulted in a roughly 9% decline in the price of the U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate since ... READ MORE >

Looking ahead to 2022 and what to expect in the economy

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Nearly two years into the pandemic, there are signs that the worst of a once-in-a-century shock to the global economy is beginning to fade. As the economy approaches a full reopening, we expect growth in 2022 will exceed 4%, the unemployment rate will fall to 3.5% and job growth will average roughly 230,000 per month. All of this will happen as ... READ MORE >

U.S. inflation reached a three-decade high in October

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Inflation continued to surge in October, mostly on the back of seasonal influences that boosted the cost of energy, transportation and food, sending the consumer price index up by 6.2% on an annual basis, a three-decade high. This data will complicate the Federal Reserve’s patient stance on rising prices, which may become a bit stickier should the ... READ MORE >