WASHINGTON (MNI) – The following is the latest Beige Book survey of
economic conditions in the Federal Reserve’s Eleventh District,
published Wednesday:

ELEVENTH DISTRICT-DALLAS

Services

Demand for staffing services softened slightly at the end of March,
following solid activity earlier in the year. Still, orders for direct
hires remained strong and shortages of skilled accounting and IT
professionals were reported. Outlooks were positive as contacts expect
demand to bounce back in the second quarter. Legal firms reported a
slight pickup in demand for their services. Contacts said mergers and
acquisitions and transactional service activity had surpassed
expectations, and there is continued strength in demand for intellectual
property, energy and some real-estate related legal services. Accounting
firms reported a modest increase in overall activity and characterize
this year’s tax and audit season as unusually good.

Reports from transportation service firms were mixed. Intermodal
firms reported an increase in cargo volumes buoyed by shipments of oil
field supplies. Small parcel shipments increased, while air cargo
volumes and railroad shipments declined during the reporting period.
Airlines reported solid passenger demand over the past six weeks.
Domestic air travel increased, while international air travel demand was
flat. Contacts said customers remained price sensitive and were
purchasing restricted discount fares. Airline contacts expect passenger
demand to remain stable or improve in the near-term.

Construction and Real Estate

Housing demand continued to pick up over the past six weeks. Tight
new home inventories led to a modest rise in construction activity.
Sales activity rose and inventories fell in the existing home market.
Some contacts expect lower inventories to impact prices positively in
2012. Apartment leasing activity remained robust since the last report.
Office and industrial leasing activity continued to improve. Contacts
noted that the energy and high tech sectors were driving much of the
demand for space. Sales of nonresidential investment properties were
unchanged over the past six weeks. Respondents noted some trepidation
among investors, even though capital is widely available. The one
exception was apartment properties, which remain popular among investors
according to contacts.

Financial Services

Financial firms reported a modest uptick in loan demand. National
banks reported strength in middle-market lending and large corporate
lending activity. Regional banks also noted improved sentiments, and
several banks suggested energy-related activity remains robust. Outlooks
are generally less pessimistic, and some outright optimistic, with an
overall theme that ?loan demand is slightly stronger.? The most
optimistic contacts were large bank lenders or regional banks that
expressed strength in renewed corporate lending. Loan pricing remains
competitive. Outstanding loan quality continues to improve, and contacts
continue to note fewer problem loans.

Energy

Contacts at energy-related service firms said demand and backlogs
from oil-producing areas remained very strong over the past six weeks.
Many respondents, however, were concerned about weaker than expected
demand for gas-directed drilling and a related decline in demand for
fracturing services and horizontal drilling services. While respondents
said overall demand in Texas is still very strong, several noted that
crews were being shifted from dry gas-producing basins such as the
Barnett shale to oil-producing basins such as Permian and Eagle Ford.
While such disruptions were expected to be temporary, some contacts had
lowered expectations for 2012.

Agriculture

Rainfall continued to ease drought conditions in many parts of the
District. West Texas did not receive much moisture, however, and the
severity of drought there worsened over the reporting period. Prospects
for 2012 crops are improved due to better soil moisture, and producers
will have more flexibility with what to plant.

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** MNI Washington Bureau: 202-371-2121 **

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