New England has been replaced by the south central states along the gulf from Mississippi to Texas and the tier of states to the north as the fastest growing region in the US economy based on the January indexes of state economic activity from the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank. Spending in these states is being boosted by the strong oil & gas industry, hurricane rebuilding and net foreign immigration in Texas. The New England states had relatively little negative impact from the collapse of the housing market but now are being restrained by the resulting weakness in financial markets and in manufacturing.