Middle Market Digest: This Week in the South and Mountain Regions

Optimism in the Dallas market continues as expansions, relocations and developments go gangbusters. Optimism is also an often-used phrase when discussing the energy sector. Business activity continued to increase in the fourth quarter, according to oil and gas executives responding to the Dallas Fed Energy Survey. The business activity index—the survey’s broadest measure of conditions facing Eleventh District energy firms—rose to 40.1 from the third quarter’s 26.7 reading. Several indicators expanded on a quarterly basis for the first time in 2016, including employment and production. Outlooks also improved, despite some skepticism about recent oil producer agreements.—Lisa Brown

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