infrastructure

Earlier this week, Amtrak released its proposal to build a new high-speed rail line connecting Boston and Washington, D.C. The project will cost over $100 billion and take 25 years to build. While rail enthusiasts may be pleased, you have to wonder: why is it going to take so long? Here's a look at other great infrastructure projects that took much less time to build.

Speaking at a White House press conference, President Obama named Austan Goolsbee as his new top economic adviser. He has a "deep appreciation of how the economy affects everyday people," Obama said.

Speaking in Cleveland, President Obama laid out the details of his plan to boost the economic recovery: $50 billion for infrastructure spending; a $100 billion R&D tax credit; and $200 billion to induce U.S. companies to make capital improvements now rather than later.

President Obama will announce billions more in infrastructure spending and tax cuts this week. Supporters say it's just what the sagging economy needs. But critics worry that with mid-term elections just a few weeks away, the main motivation may be political.

Recognizing that voters are worried about the economy, President Obama is offering an olive branch to his critics with a $50 billion infrastructure plan and a deal to make the R&D tax credit permanent. Conservatives say it's too little too late, but the game is far from over for the Democrats.

The U.S. construction industry went from bad to worse in July, and then retroactively worse still. The Commerce Department announced Wednesday that spending in the sector fell a worse-than-expected 1% in July, and revised June's estimate downward from a 0.1% increase to an 0.8% decline.

Construction stocks have lately been dormant, if not huge losers. But some analysts are starting to divine that global engineering and heavy construction will come alive in the second half of 2010. And they're changing their tune on Foster Wheeler.

How long will it take Haiti to make even a modest recovery from the devastating earthquake that killed 330,000 people six months ago? At least 20 years, according to the Action Plan released by the impoverished island nation's government.

Manuel "Matty" Moroun enjoys a monopoly over one of the nation's busiest international trade routes between Detroit and Ontario. But now, as his Ambassador Bridge is starting to show its 81 years, Moroun has found himself frantically defending his claim to the lucrative trade business that takes place across the Detroit River each year.

Worries are building about the prospects for China's economy, but GameChangerStocks.com's Hilary Kramer says there are some good long-term opportunities for investors. Her stock picks: Two non-Chinese companies invested heavily in China.