For many North American businesses, 2011 was a tough year as the recession continued unabated. For example, by yearend, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed a lawsuit against six former top executives at the mortgage giants Fannie May and Freddie Mac, charging the group with failing to adequately disclose their companies’ exposure to risky mortgages, which was a significant contributing factor to the financial crisis. The ongoing financial issues continue to hold down interest rates and investment in otherwise healthy industries.

Elsewhere, Canadian-based TransCanada Corp. was halted in its plans to bring oil-sands crude to impatiently waiting Gulf Coast refiners via its Keystone XL pipeline when President Barak Obama declared a delay of approval until after the November presidential elections. The heavily politicized pipeline might get reprieved if a new payroll-tax bill is passed, which includes favorable provisions for the pipeline.

Other notable news items at the end of the year that offered closure to drawn out issues include Dynegy Holdings LLC’s filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in November to restructure expensive leases on power plants and lighten its debt load. Cameron International announced it will pay a $250 million settlement with BP Plc for the Deepwater Horizon accident. Chenier Energy Inc. announced plans for a liquefaction plant to be built in Texas, despite Standard & Poor’s recent warning that the company might be on the verge of default. And Shell Oil Co. reports concern that the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has restricted it drilling season in the Chukchi Sea through a dozen mandates, despite approving Shell’s overall drilling plans there.

Meanwhile, Obama’s trillion-dollar bailout has not reduced unemployment rates to 8% or less as promised. Where is the light at the end of the tunnel?

It’s in Texas, naturally. A number of Texas cities recently made the top of Milken Institute’s best-performing cities list. The study analyzes types of jobs, wages, technological performance and employment growth.

The Texan domination of the list is not surprising, considering some of the best U.S. oil and gas developments reside in the state, fueling the healthy energy, service and supply industries and their associated civil-support systems. Despite historical ups and downs in the energy industry, long-time players know there are more ups than downs, and the recent report supports that concept. In other words, Texas looks good in light of tough times in other areas.

San Antonio ranked number one as the best performing U.S. city in 2011. The city ranked 14 in 2010, but leaped to the top of the list due to drilling in the Eagle Ford shale, among other metrics. San Antonio was one of only a few locations that exceeded pre-recession employment levels, and the growth continues.

El Paso, Austin, Round Rock and the Killeen-Temple-Fort Hood area are in the top 10. Houston, often referred to as the energy capital of the world, ranked 16 overall, but was number one among the nation’s 10 largest metropolitan areas.

According to James Gaines, a research economist with Real Estate Center at Texas A&M University, Texas is “very heavily influenced” by the energy industry, a fact that significantly contributes to its ownership of one in every five U.S. jobs created from June 2010 to June 2011. Houston plus Dallas were to thank for one in every 10 jobs, nationally. And, notable during the football season, Houston’s third-string rookie quarterback, T. J. Yates, put the team in the playoffs.