Richard Williamson

DALLAS — Southwest Securities FSB, the commercial banking subsidiary of SWS Group Inc., has named Larry Kilgore as senior vice president and regional president of the firm’s downtown Fort Worth and Southlake, Tex., banking centers.

DALLAS — The Port of Houston Authority of Harris County will take advantage of its highly rated credit tomorrow by offering $327 million of refunding bonds, a deal that comes amid major expansion plans for one of the nation’s busiest cargo and petro-chemical facilities.

DALLAS — The Lower Colorado River Authority, one of the largest wholesale energy providers in Texas, aims to take advantage of favorable interest rates with a $426 million refunding deal this week.

DALLAS — The funding gap for the Denver area’s FasTracks transit plan has grown to $2.5 billion — a $300 million increase since 2009 — even though the construction cost estimate has fallen by nearly the same amount, according to the Regional Transportation District.

DALLAS — Vinson & Elkins attorneys Jonathan Leatherberry and Wendy Salinas, who specialize in public finance, have has been promoted to partner, the firm said yesterday.

DALLAS — The Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District between Dallas and Fort Worth is preparing to issue $102 million of refunding bonds without waiting for a triple-A guarantee from the Texas Permanent School Fund.

DALLAS — Last week’s downgrades of Arizona’s debt by two rating agencies will have its most immediate impact on the sale of $735 million of certificates of participation to raise cash for the financially strapped state early next month.

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Johnson County’s general obligation rating to AA-minus from A-plus, affecting $10.4 million of outstanding bonds and $12.3 million of certificates of obligation.

The Crystal City Independent School District in South Texas saw its underlying rating downgraded by Fitch Ratings to BBB-plus from A-minus, but the action may not have much impact. With its $23.6 million of general obligation bonds guaranteed by the Texas Permanent School Fund, the debt also has a triple-A enhanced rating.

Oklahoma’s revenue is expected to fall by $966.8 million in fiscal 2011, according to the treasurer’s office. The increasingly dire scenario comes on the heels of a $729 million shortfall in the current fiscal year.

Kansas Gov. Mark Parkinson said he might consider seeking new revenue measures and oppose deeper cuts in education spending when the Legislature convenes Jan. 11.

Colorado’s revenue shortfall for the current fiscal year grew to $601 million. Previous estimates of the shortfall were $560 million.

Standard & Poor’s last week raised the underlying general obligation rating for the Goodyear Community Facilities Utility District No. 1 to A-minus from BBB based on “consistently strong available fund balances and mostly built-out status.”

DALLAS — After months of failure to balance its budget amid one of the worst fiscal crises in its 97-year history, Arizona Wednesday suffered double ratings downgrades as Moody's Investors Service lowered the credit to A1 from Aa3 leaving the outlook negative, while Standard & Poor's late in the day dropped the state to AA-minus from AA.

After months of failure to balance its budget amid one of the worst fiscal crises in its 97-year history, Arizona Wednesday suffered double ratings downgrades as Moody's Investors Service lowered the credit to A1 from Aa3 leaving the outlook negative, while Standard & Poor's late in the day dropped the state to AA-minus from AA.

Texas Children's Hospital in Houston will open the new year by retiring $78 million of auction-rate securities almost two years after the market for that type of debt collapsed.

With its rating under review and revenue weakening, the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority is considering refinancing nearly $1 billion of bonds used to build its three professional sports stadiums.

The Texas Permanent School Fund bond guarantee program will again be available to back debt issued by school districts starting next year, the Texas Education Agency announced.

DALLAS - The Texas Permanent School Fund Bond Guarantee Program, closed since March, will again back bonds issued by school districts in the state to pay for school construction starting next year, the Texas Education Agency announced.

Arizona lawmakers are preparing to meet in a special session tomorrow to consider calling for a temporary sales-tax increase and $200 million in spending cuts to ease an estimated $1.6 billion deficit.