Obsolete Certainty

The John Hancock Tower is heading towards foreclosure. No, not the iconic tower in Chicago. The one in Boston.

It seems that the gleaming glass tower, once famous for showering the sidewalk with falling window panes, will be sold to the highest bidder next month.

If you have some spare cash I am sure you can pick up the place for a relative bargain compared to the $1.3 billion the current owners paid in 2006.

Interesting information in the WSJ about what many U.S. mayors consider important projects to stimulate the national economy.  Apparently, the city of Austin believes that the economy is suffering due of a lack of frisbee golf courses.  Having spent a lot of time in Austin, I can believe they would be that misguided.

And apparently Las Vegas doesn’t think there are enough neon signs anymore. Apparently that is a major cause of the current recession. Granted, there isn’t as much neon in Vegas as in the good old days, but except for a couple of sign makers, I don’t see that really helping the economy out.  Sorry.

And my favorite comes from Shreveport, Louisiana. That fine city has requested stimulus money to build water parks. With water slides of course.  That should really get the ole GDP surging.

There is a puzzling head on Bloomberg.com today. “Spending Probably Rose on Tax Rebates: U.S. Economy Preview.”

Probably? That is an odd hedge.  Of course spending rose with those tax rebate checks. Americans would never do anyting foolish with “free” money like save or invest it. Or even pay the rent or mortgage payment with it. The problem is that the rebate is a one time shot. Once it is gone, what happens then?  Not all the checks have been sent out. Rebates checks are still being sent out through September which will probably give the economy a little juice until the fall.  And then what?