Richard Williamson

Texas is preparing to issue a record $7.8 billion of tax and revenue anticipation notes as legislators confront the largest budget shortfall in state history.

DALLAS — The University of Texas System has approved building an $800 million hospital at its UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas that will be financed largely through revenue bonds.

DALLAS — Colorado Springs is preparing to sell $477 million of utility system revenue bonds that will include refunding and new money for a 62-mile water pipeline called the Southern Delivery System.

DALLAS — Denver Public Schools officials are defending a 2008 derivatives deal amid accusations that the district took unnecessary risks that cost millions of dollars and harmed its ability to hire teachers.

DALLAS — Bondholders are trying to find out what happened to a $200,000 debt-service reserve fund discovered missing when a north Texas issuer defaulted on $4 million of bonds used to purchase three retirement facilities.

DALLAS — The average offering of Build America Bonds fell in the first half of 2010 as smaller issuers became more familiar with the hybrid product that mimics corporate bonds and targets the municipal market.

DALLAS — Austin Bergstrom International Airport’s Hilton hotel faces a deepening financial hole in the wake of a series of defaults on $49 million of revenue bonds, according to a recent audit.

DALLAS — Glendale, Ariz., and the National Hockey League are considering new offers for the Phoenix Coyotes after a deal to keep the team playing in the city’s bond-financed arena hit a roadblock, according to reports.

DALLAS — Moody’s Investors Service restored Texas Southern University’s credit to investment grade Tuesday as the historically black school continued its recovery from a financial scandal that threatened its accreditation with the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

DALLAS — After years of planning, Colorado’s Regional Transportation District is preparing to issue $404 million of tax-exempt private-activity bonds Wednesday to finance a 23-mile commuter line linking Denver International Airport to a new downtown transit hub at Union Station.

Five cities that teamed up under the name Utopia — the Utah Telecommunications Open Infrastructure Agency — plan to issue up to $65 million of bonds to finance municipal fiber-optic cable service for homes and businesses.

Harris County Hospital District is planning to issue $104 million of senior-lien refunding bonds this week in variable-rate mode with a letter of credit from JPMorgan Chase. The tax-exempt bonds will retire Series 2007B auction-rate bonds that were converted to taxable debt in April 2008.

Oklahoma is seeking to ease budget strains with a nearly $100 million refunding of lease-revenue bonds expected to go to market this week led by senior manager RBC Capital Markets.

Wells Fargo Investments will buy back $34.6 million worth of auction-rate securities from investors under a consent order with the Colorado Division of Securities, state securities commissioner Fred Joseph announced last week.

Colorado continued to post positive returns on its investment portfolio for the fiscal year ending in June, according to Treasurer Cary Kennedy. The state managed to achieve gains throughout the recession that started in December 2007, she said.

A deal to keep the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team playing in Glendale’s Jobing.com arena has hit a snag as a critical deadline nears this week, according to local reports.

DALLAS — The Port Authority of Houston is issuing $300 million of general obligation debt this week to take out commercial paper for the port’s expansion and refund bonds sold in 2008.

DALLAS — Phoenix is preparing to issue $710 million of revenue bonds next week to ­finance a five-mile automated transit system linking Sky Harbor International Airport’s terminal to the city’s new light-rail line as well as parking and rental car facilities.

DALLAS — Fitch Ratings and Moody’s Investors Service expect to assign their lowest investment-grade rating to $404 million of tax-exempt private-activity bonds for a commuter rail line connecting downtown Denver to Denver International Airport.

DALLAS — A proposal to invest up to $100 million of Texas Permanent School Fund money in charter schools is still alive, even though the Texas Education Agency sidelined the idea in a meeting Thursday.