There is dire economic news out there – 11 percent unemployment in North Carolina, drastic losses of state construction jobs, business credit is harder to come by. 

Fortune Magazine this week issued its list of best metro areas in which to launch a business.  Durham is 15th on that list for midsized areas. 

According to a recent survey by Discover Financial Services Small Business Watch, 90 percent of people surveyed continue to rate the economy as fair to poor, unchanged from February.  But a greater percentage of small business owners see economic conditions for their businesses improving, and fewer people see conditions getting worse.  An excerpt from the report: