The outlook for the Midwest, or at least its manufacturing, agriculture and energy industries, worsened in October.
The Mid-America Business Conditions Index, compiled by Ernie Goss at Creighton University, fell to 41.1 last month. Anything lower than 50 suggests economic contraction in the coming months. The index relies on supply managers, mostly in manufacturing, so it may say more about that industry than state economies as a whole.