The Fed just released its latest Beige Book on the state of the Greater Boston economy.
It makes for a pretty interesting read.

Right now tourism, consulting and manufacturing (as in high-tech stuff, not widgets) are what’s hot.
Commercial real estate? Well, not really. And residential real estate? Definitely not.
Of note:
Tourism on fire: Travel and tourism saw [...]

It’s not just cities like Boston and Cambridge that compete for hot new biotech companies or prestigious financial services firms.
The competition is getting pretty intense out in the suburbs along 128 as well.
With an envious eye on Waltham, Burlington is giving its blessing to a dramatic revamp of sprawling Northwest Park, with hopes of bringing [...]

The Bruins under owner Jeremy Jacobs finally broke a nearly three-decade long Stanley Cup drought last season.
But it’s not clear when Jacobs and his Delaware North Cos., which owns the Bruins and the Garden, will break a now decade-and-a-half long development drought in front of the Garden itself.

In the early 1990s, Delaware North, as it [...]

OK, NStar and National Grid didn’t exactly endear themselves to the hundreds of thousands of their customers across Massachusetts who went without power for days this fall, not once but twice.
Now a bill that would streamline the process under which towns and cities can start their own electric utilities may have just gotten a [...]

Steve Wynn, Sheldon Adelson and Gary Loveman are three of the biggest casino tycoons Las Vegas has ever seen. And all have been interested, at one point or another, in opening up casinos in the Bay State.
Now that Gov. Deval Patrick has signed casino legislation into law, they may finally get their chance.
But all three [...]

When it comes to home sales, it’s an investor’s market right now.
With rents rising, investors are snapping up distressed properties and turning them into rentals, according to a new national survey.
Investors accounted for 22.3 percent of all home sales, up from 19.6 percent in July, according to the latest Campbell/Inside Mortgage Finance HousingPulse Tracking Survey.
Low [...]

We all know how hard hit the construction market here is in the Bay State.
The end of the Big Dig and the Great Recession has sent jobless rates soaring in the industry.
But the casino bill making its way through the State House could provide a badly needed boost, supporters say.
The construction of three casinos and [...]

The demise of Friendly’s may seem like just another case of an old favorite felled by changing times.
But the chain’s slide into bankruptcy is rather amazing given all the built-in advantages and generational loyalty the struggling burger and ice cream chain has enjoyed in New England over the years.
Just check out all the heartbroken comments [...]

Let’s hope so – for it’s the only sector that’s on fire right now.
The high-tech industry growth rate is four times faster than the national average, according to a new report by Jones Lang LaSalle.
And the high-tech services sector is expanding by a smoking 5.9 percent, which should help drive new office space demand.
Not surprisingly, [...]

No, I am not talking about the half-demolished Filene’s project.
Rather, Vornado is poised to score big across town over at Suffolk Downs, where it is a key investor behind plans to convert the old racetrack into a gambling and entertainment palace.
Backed by Caesars Entertainment, one of the world’s largest casino companies, Suffolk Downs owners are [...]