Richard Williamson

The federal Bureau of Prisons' phase out of private prisons has only a small effect on the municipal bond-financed private lockup sector, leaving bond-financed immigration detention centers untouched.

Eight years after the housing market collapse, the senior housing sector is growing with the help of near record-low interest rates that have prompted a rush to market.

Lenders will own the private operator of State Highway 130 near Austin under a Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization plan filed last week.

Despite a two-year slump in the energy industry, local sales tax revenue for Texas cities, counties and other jurisdictions rose 1.2% in July, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported.

Experts in Kansas government say the defeats of many of Gov. Sam Brownback’s allies in the GOP primary showed that moderates have had enough of his policies of cutting taxes while reducing spending on state services.

Oklahoma’s continuing downturn in revenue has exceeded the slump that followed the global financial crisis of 2008, state Treasurer Ken Miller said.

After ending the 2016 fiscal year with a surplus, Arkansas began the new fiscal year with revenues running 1.7% below projections, officials said.

With energy in the doldrums, Texas saw its sales tax revenue fall 1.5% in July compared to the same month last year, said state Comptroller Glenn Hegar.

Kansas started its fiscal year $12.8 million below the revenue forecast for July, continuing a trend that factored into a credit downgrade from Standard & Poor's.

The University of Texas System will bring its triple-A credit to two bond deals worth a combined $609 million.

In the largest deal from Colorado this year, the Denver suburb of Aurora saved 12.9% on a $437 million refunding, official said.

Kansas absorbed a downgrade when S&P Global Ratings dropped the state’s issuer credit rating one notch to AA-minus.

BOK Financial is changing the name of its broker-dealer to BOK Financial. The firm was known for 25 years as BOSC, Inc.

Uncertainty over the future of the North American Free Trade Agreement has not stopped Texas from continuing to invest in freight routes across the Rio Grande.

A federal appeals court ruling that allows Fort Worth, Texas, to reduce pension benefits is a positive credit factor for the city and others seeking to adjust to growing obligations, according to Moody's Investors Service.

The Harris County Hospital District earned a two-notch Fitch Ratings upgrade to AA despite weakness in the Houston area's energy economy.

Oklahoma entered a recession more than a year ago and may still be in one as oil and gas futures trade at less than half of their 2014 peak prices, according to recent economic data.

Kroll Bond Ratings Agency conferred a fourth triple-A rating on Texas general obligation debt as KBRA added its fifth state client.

Texas saw its June sales tax revenue dip 0.8% as a weak oil and gas sector continued to hobble growth, state Comptroller Glenn Hegar said.

Kansas is still looking for the winning formula, four years after Gov. Sam Brownback started his experiment with income and business tax cuts. The 2016 fiscal year ended June 30 with the state borrowing $900 million, raising $38 million to avoid closing public schools and again falling short of revenue estimates.