Energy Companies Start Year Strong

Mergers and acquisitions riseThanks to fracking and foreign investment, the U.S. oil and gas industry got off to a strong start this year, according to a report by PricewaterhouseCoopers.The industry has had more mergers and acquisitions in 2014’s first three months than in any first quarter in more than a decade, the report says.The report includes a quarterly analysis of deals worth at least $50 million. A total of 43 deals worth $19.8 billion occurred, compared with 41 deals for the first quarter of 2013.Nearly a third of the quarter’s total deals involved hydraulic fracturing. Of the 13 large deals