Karen is a senior reporter covering the Southwest. She has covered the municipal bond market for more than 30 years at The Bond Buyer and Reuters. Prior to that she wrote about futures and options markets for magazines and was an award-winning reporter for a suburban Chicago newspaper chain.
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April revenue collections set records in Southwest states as a strong economy and inflation boosted income and sales tax collections, although some officials are urging caution.
May 9 -
The Texas Natural Gas Securitization Finance Corporation picked a team of underwriters to sell debt for utilities hit hard during 2021’s Winter Storm Uri.
May 6 -
The high court validated about $800 million of ratepayer-backed bonds to finance the recovery of fuel costs incurred by Oklahoma Gas and Electric Company (OG&E) during the February 2021 storm.
May 5 -
The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority received state approval on Wednesday for a $200 million revolving line of credit to jumpstart its $5 billion expansion program, but will not be able to spend a portion of the money unless a lawsuit is resolved in its favor.
May 4 -
Opposition to the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority’s $5 billion, bond-financed improvement and expansion project is heating up with a lawsuit seeking to block it filed ahead of a meeting to consider initial financing.
May 3 -
Texas ballots are bursting with $18.5 billion of bonds Saturday as cities and school districts ask voters to approve 207 bond measures.
May 2 -
Several firms' ability to underwrite municipal bond issues in Texas is under review.
April 28 -
Oklahoma is poised to follow in the footsteps of Texas by barring banks from municipal bond deals if deemed to be against firearms and fossil fuel industries.
April 27 -
Crews & Associates, a top underwriter in Arkansas, eyes move into addirional states.
April 26 -
After a four-year absence, Utah’s Intermountain Power Agency returns to the municipal market with nearly $552 million of power supply revenue bonds.
April 25 -
Utah’s top elected officials demanded that S&P Global Ratings cease applying ESG factors to the state through the use of what they called a politicized rating system based on indeterminate factors.
April 22 -
Phoenix’s ratings were affirmed and its general obligation bond outlook was raised to stable from negative by Moody's.
April 20 -
Oklahoma hopes to close on a federal loan this summer for rural highway construction and improvements that would tap into $200 million of borrowing authorized by a 2021 state law.
April 19 -
A taxable bond issue will raise $3.4 billion for extraordinary costs incurred by natural gas utilities during deadly Winter Storm Uri that hit Texas in 2021.
April 18 -
Denver will head to the municipal market next week with its biggest new money general obligation bond sale ever at $366.4 million.
April 13 -
After dropping dramatically with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, energy severance tax revenue is soaring along with oil and gas prices.
April 11 -
The combined Utah-based Intermountain and Colorado-based SCL will operate 33 hospitals and 385 clinics in Utah, Idaho, Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and Kansas.
April 7 -
Despite speakers' objections over the cost of the project or the need for more restorative justice measures instead of incarceration, all three commissioners voted in favor of the referendum.
April 5 -
Firms remain uncertain about how state laws that apply litmus tests for banks and others seeking contracts with governmental entities impact them.
April 4 -
Underwriters sidelined by the state's new litmus test on firearms policies have bought many past Texas TRANs, but the state won't need to issue any this year.
March 31
