Tom Hudson
Senior Economics Editor and Special CorrespondentTom Hudson is WLRN's Senior Economics Editor and Special Correspondent.
Hudson's extensive reporting on South Florida's economy has taken him from the waters of Florida Bay to the depths of the PortMiami tunnel (and countless offices and conference rooms). He has interviewed bartenders and bankers, caregivers and CEOs to report on the people behind economic statistics.
He began his business reporting career in March 2000, just weeks after the dot-com bubble burst. He has reported from the trading floors of the CME, Chicago Board Options Exchange, NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchange. He previously served as Vice President of News at WLRN when he created and hosted The Sunshine Economy for 10 years. He was managing editor and co-anchor of Nightly Business Report on PBS.
Hudson is married with two sons and advises every bicycle rider to always wear their helmet.
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A small drop in international visitors to Miami-Dade County was driven by declines in trips from Colombia and Canada. Visits from New York and Chicago – the top two cities for visitors from other states – also fell. -
The American Business Forum featured household names from the worlds of politics, business and sports at its event held in Miami. Talk was heavy about influences, workplace culture and President Trump —but light on current economic conditions for businesses. -
Counties and cities borrow billions of dollars for all kinds of expensive projects. They pledge future property tax revenues to pay back their lenders. Gov. Ron DeSantis wants to reduce or eliminate some property taxes, leaving a lot of uncertainty of how the changes may impact local government bonds. -
‘If we gut the system, communities get gutted’: Lawmaker's warning on cutting Florida property taxesReducing or eliminating most local property taxes is a top priority for Gov. Ron DeSantis as he enters the final year of his last term. Florida Keys Rep. Jim Mooney, a Republican, thinks lawmakers should focus their efforts on bringing down the cost of property insurance instead. “We don't get a lot of complaints about property taxes,” he said. -
Home and condo sales show very early signs of recovery in September helped by a drop in mortgage rates and lower or, at least stable, prices. It’s too early to “definitively declare a shift in the overall trend,” but confidence by the state’s realtor group is rebounding. -
Florida's private passenger train service had concentrated on growing its long distance service between South Florida and Orlando. In recent weeks, it has changed pricing and schedules in hopes of attracting regional commuters, too. -
Despite a slowdown in sales and more homes on the market, UBS still ranks South Florida as the riskiest housing market in the world. -
Department of Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem blames Democrats for the government shutdown in a new video for TSA security checkpoints. Two of South Florida's airports are not playing the video for waiting passengers. -
The regional commercial real estate industry is holding up so far this year despite persistent worries about the value of offices, new apartment buildings and uncertainties about the impact of tariffs on trade. -
It has been very profitable to own a South Florida home over the past 15-plus years. Long-term homeowners here are sitting on a mountain of profits, but if they sell, they also likely face a hefty tax bill. And that could be making the housing market more unaffordable for younger buyers. -
Gigi Coloma says she relied on Instagram to drum up most of her business. Then she was locked out of her account for almost three months for a "horrible accusation" — the platform said it was investigating her for “child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity" following a selfie posted by her young niece for her birthday. She's still waiting for an apology. -
Florida condominium owners saw their average home insurance rates jump by more than 50% in four years to almost $2,000. That far outpaced overall consumer inflation in South Florida — at a time the region had the highest inflation rate in the country.
