Top 10 Takeaways on Current Oil Price Environment

This week, Mark Edwards from Northrim Bank spoke on Understanding The Current Oil Price Environment.  In the end, he believes that it'll be a relatively FLAT year!

Here are my top 10 takeaways!

1.  Tourism should have a record year in Alaska!  The cruises are booked, hotel rooms reserved and
train tickets booked so we already know it's going to be a record breaker!

2.  We still have great job growth in retail and health care!  We are not solely dependent on the oil industry.

3.  40,000 people transition in and out of Alaska each year.

4.  We have a ton of oil still in Alaska so we are not running out of oil!

5.  Our subprime foreclosure rate is 2%...THE BEST IN THE NATION!!

6.  Alaska has not seen the huge fluctuations of unemployment like the rest of the nation for the last decade.

7.  Our new construction market is not meeting the current need.  Around 1983-84 we had 11,248 new building permits, last year we had 1,509.

8.  A $1 Billion cut in state spending is 2% of the $51 Billion economy.

9.  Alaska has sufficient savings to offset large current budget deficits.  Needed cuts in state operating and capital budgets will likely create a 2% drag on the economy in 2015.

10.  Both the state and the Federal EIA predict $70 oil next year.

Thanks again the Mark for a really great presentation!