Latest news with #boomandbust
Bloomberg
7 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Odd Lots: How to Move Freight Across the Icy Roads of Alaska
We're interested in trucking here at Odd Lots. It's one of those industries that can tell us a lot about the economy, both in terms of the short-term cycle, and also long-term structural trends. Of course, we know that the industry is prone to big boom and bust cycles. And Alaska itself -- driven so much by oil and natural resource extraction -- is also known for its boom and bust cycles. So on our trip there, we spoke with Josh Norum, the CEO of Sourdough Express, an Alaska based trucking company that's been around for over a century. We talked about how the business works, the history of the company, the current economic environment, tariffs, and the unique challenge (and opportunity) of moving freight in America's northernmost state.
Bloomberg
7 days ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
How to Move Freight Across the Icy Roads of Alaska
Markets Odd Lots Where the trucking industry is always strained Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify Subscribe to the newsletter We're interested in trucking here at Odd Lots. It's one of those industries that can tell us a lot about the economy, both in terms of the short-term cycle, and also long-term structural trends. Of course, we know that the industry is prone to big boom and bust cycles. And Alaska itself -- driven so much by oil and natural resource extraction -- is also known for its boom and bust cycles. So on our trip there, we spoke with Josh Norum, the CEO of Sourdough Express, an Alaska based trucking company that's been around for over a century. We talked about how the business works, the history of the company, the current economic environment, tariffs, and the unique challenge (and opportunity) of moving freight in America's northernmost state.
Bloomberg
16-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Fed's Barr Warns About Effects of Weakened Bank Rules
00:00 It's striking to see the pattern of regulatory weakening during a boom, including the failure of the regulatory environment to keep pace with the evolving financial sector and how this weakening lays the foundation for a subsequent bust. Why do we continue to see these cycles? Some reasons are psychological, others political. Humans have short memories, especially for experiences we might like to forget. The further we get from a crisis, the more its causes fade from memory and the less likely a recurrence seems we become more likely to view regulations as unduly burdensome and place less value on the protection they offer from downside risk. The financial sector itself lobbies hard to weaken regulation, which is often effective when the last crisis seems far away. Credit cycles, financial innovation and the evolving needs of the economy are also significant contributors. As the economy changes, so do financing needs. This makes it harder to recognize when things are running too hot. In addition, regulators are understandably cautious about restraining innovations that have societal benefits, which may hinder their ability to reduce associated risks. Long standing regulations can be subject to regulatory arbitrage, making them less effective as activities migrate outside the regulatory system. These dynamics make the financial sector unstable, feeding the boom and bust cycle.
ABC News
15-07-2025
- Business
- ABC News
Property prices in Gladstone rebound after bust
Proximity to beaches, a bigger house and a pool, without the premium city price tag. That was what inspired Brisbane mortgage broker Stevie Gera to pack up her family and move to the industrial city of Gladstone in central Queensland. "To achieve that anywhere remotely close to Brisbane, we would be needing to increase the mortgage by a good $300–400,000 to get what we wanted, and we weren't willing to do that," Ms Gera said. The median house price in Gladstone, a city known for its boom-and-bust cycles, has risen by more than 74 per cent in the past five years, according to Cotality data supplied to the Real Estate Institute of Queensland (REIQ). Its most recent quarterly data from March revealed the annual median house price was $520,000, while units now fetched $335,000. That is an increase of more than 97 per cent for units since 2020. In 2012, Gladstone was undergoing an LNG (liquefied natural gas) construction boom, and property prices soared. But the work dried up, and by 2018 most homes were selling at a loss. It fuelled the perception of Gladstone as a boom-and-bust city, and some banks still consider it a high-risk lending location, subjecting borrowers to stricter lending conditions. However, Ms Gera said she had noticed through her work as a broker that this was shifting. "A lot of them [lenders] have taken Gladstone off that high-risk postcode register and they just see it as any other location," she said. Alicia Williams has sold homes in the region for more than a decade. "Gladstone's always been a boom-and-bust town, until I would say just before COVID it started to find its own feet and it started to find a sustainable path forward," she said. "We've got a lot of different industry now, which has been diversified over the years." Ms Williams said in her agency in June, the average four-bedroom two-bathroom home was selling for about $580,000. She said in the past two years, there was also significant interest from interstate investors, especially from Sydney and Melbourne. REIQ zone chair for Gladstone Celina Solis is a fourth-generation local who lived through the region's tumultuous crash. She said seeing the area thriving once more was heartwarming. It is a similar situation in other regional centres across Queensland, with significant growth in Bundaberg, Rockhampton and Townsville. "All these regional cities are going so well because more people are realising, 'Hey, I can come here and work and get a really good job … get a property with a shed, pool, four or five bedrooms for a reasonable price point,'" Ms Solis said. She said for Gladstone, people were attracted to the family-friendly lifestyle and the draw of well-paid jobs. Ms Gera and her husband chose Gladstone because they already had an investment property there, so they had visited before and liked the region. Her three children, aged six, eight and 16, were initially apprehensive, but she said the slower pace and larger family home had been life-changing. However, Ms Gera said prospective buyers should consider their health care needs before moving. South Gladstone resident Tracey Mullens agreed. She bought in the city after finding it impossible to find a rental in Brisbane with a yard for her children and wheelchair accessibility for her husband. "We started looking and the circle kept getting bigger and bigger until we got to Gladstone," Ms Mullens said. She said while moving was a necessity at the time, her family struggled to find reliable support workers, and it was a challenge to travel for health care. Ms Mullens said she planned to move back to outer Brisbane when it was financially possible.
