The Last Time Investors Really Got Excited For Tech Infrastructure
Odd Lots28 Maalis 2025

The Last Time Investors Really Got Excited For Tech Infrastructure

One of the biggest questions hanging over the market right now is whether or not the seemingly unlimited appetite for more AI data center spending is slowing down or not. This type of tech infrastructure has been a massive sectoral winner over the last few years. But of course, this isn't the first time investors have gotten excited about this type of trade. The late 1990s and early 2000s are often remembered as being the time of a "tech bubble" or "dot-com bubble," but one specific aspect was the buildout in broadband infrastructure, or what became known as the telecom bubble. So what was that all about? Why were investors so optimistic? And how did it end? At our recent live episode in Washington DC, we spoke with Blair Levin, policy adviser to New Street Research. He was the chief of staff at the FCC during the telecom deregulation of the 1990s, and in the early 2000s went to work on Wall Street. He tells us about differences and similarities between then and now, plus the signs of when the ride is coming to an end.

Read More: What It Felt Like When Everyone Was Hopeful, Happy, and Rich

Only Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox — now delivered every weekday — plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Jaksot(1193)

Google's Liz Reid on Who Will Own Search in a World of AI

Google's Liz Reid on Who Will Own Search in a World of AI

Not too long ago, search engines were the dominant form of querying the internet. But that's changing since the rise of large language models like ChatGPT, Claude, and Google's Gemini. More and more p...

23 Huhti 51min

Daniel Yergin Sees a 'Different World' Emerging After the Hormuz Crisis

Daniel Yergin Sees a 'Different World' Emerging After the Hormuz Crisis

When it comes to the history of oil and energy, nobody is more famous or well respected than Daniel Yergin. He is the Vice Chairman of S&P Global, and the Pulitzer Prize winning author of both The Pri...

22 Huhti 45min

Brad Jacobs on His Big Bet on Building Insulation

Brad Jacobs on His Big Bet on Building Insulation

He's done it again. On Sunday night, building supply company QXO announced that it would be acquiring TopBuild for $17 billion. TopBuild sells and installs insulation for both the residential and comm...

21 Huhti 40min

Jack McClendon on Why It's So Hard to Create a New American Oil Boom

Jack McClendon on Why It's So Hard to Create a New American Oil Boom

The White House wants gasoline prices to be lower, and it wants to see American oil companies drill for more oil. But of course, these ideas are in tension. If prices are going lower, why drill more? ...

20 Huhti 46min

Alex Imas on Why Economists Might Be Getting AI Wrong

Alex Imas on Why Economists Might Be Getting AI Wrong

Everyone knows that new technologies can be really disruptive to the labor market, but eventually new jobs emerge and things come back into balance. And there is a sense in which many view AI with the...

18 Huhti 47min

Planet Money Turned Everyday Annoyances Into an Economics Book

Planet Money Turned Everyday Annoyances Into an Economics Book

There are a lot of things to be annoyed about in modern life. The high cost of food and housing and childcare. Dating apps that don't seem to work. The fear of AI replacing you at your job. These are ...

17 Huhti 39min

Brad Setser on the War in Iran and the Future of the US Dollar

Brad Setser on the War in Iran and the Future of the US Dollar

It's possible that the war in Iran could reshape financial flows in significant ways. Perhaps the Gulf states will end up as less desirable places to do business. Perhaps Iran will have a tollbooth at...

16 Huhti 51min

War in Iran Is Already Reshaping East Asia's Energy Future

War in Iran Is Already Reshaping East Asia's Energy Future

The war in Iran has caused the price of all kinds of commodities to surge, and that has a negative economic impact almost everywhere. But the squeeze is really being felt hard in East Asia, which is t...

15 Huhti 37min

Suosittua kategoriassa Liike-elämä ja talous

sijotuskasti
mimmit-sijoittaa
psykopodiaa-podcast
rss-rahapodi
herrasmieshakkerit
rss-rahamania
ostan-asuntoja-podcast
rss-doulapodi
rss-sami-miettinen-neuvottelija
rahapuhetta
rss-lahtijat
rss-paasipodi
juristipodi
rss-sisalto-kuntoon
inderespodi
pomojen-suusta
yrittaja
rss-uskalla-yrittaa
rss-laakispodi
rss-bisnesta-bebeja