Texas

Good Shepherd Health System faces a rising risk of default on $150 million of debt as the East Texas nonprofit seeks a merger partner, Moody’s Investors Service says.

Texas A&M University System reported higher-than-expected savings on the refunding of its revenue bonds after a Standard & Poor’s upgrade to triple-A.

Despite two downgrades, Houston reported net present value savings of $49.1 million on a $557 million bond sale that was mostly refunding.

Amid rising fiscal pressures and two ratings downgrades, Houston is planning a $600 million bond transaction followed by its annual investor conference.

Moody’s Investors Service downgraded Houston’s general obligation bond rating one notch to Aa3 and retained a negative outlook as the nation’s fourth-largest city struggles amid falling oil prices and high fixed costs.

In a financial mess that spans the Atlantic, Louisiana affiliates of a German wood pellet processing firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, potentially leaving bond investors on the hook for a project poised to receive millions in state incentives.

The Lamar Consolidated Independent School District near Houston has filed a disclosure notice about the case for investors in the district’s bonds.

The Texas Department of Transportation plans to offer $624 million of general obligation bonds bearing the state’s triple-A credit in April. The deal will be the largest from a Texas issuer so far this year.

A bribery investigation of bond-funded projects in the Lamar Consolidated Independent School District has led to indictments of a construction manager, a school board member and a commissioner for the city of Richmond, Texas.

The cities of Midland and Odessa, Texas, are among 11 local issuers in the state’s oil producing region under review for downgrade from Moody’s Investors Service.

Under its new corporate structure, Hilltop Securities can picture itself atop the financial advisory ranks in the not-too-distant future, top executives say.

The State Highway 130 Concession Company led by toll road developer Cintra will try to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy after revenues from the $1.35 billion project fell far short of projections.

Texas sales tax revenue fell 6.8% in February compared to the same month last year and is down 4% over the past three months, according to Comptroller Glenn Hegar.

The heavily indebted North Texas Tollway Authority continues to reduce losses from toll violators as the region’s drivers seem undeterred by automatically increasing rates, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

Falling tax assessments on Energy Future Holdings power plants could strain local budgets in six Texas counties as the company tries to emerge from the nation's largest corporate bankruptcy.

A sharp decline in cash sent the Mission, Texas, Hospital District's rating further into junk territory, according to Moody's Investors Service.

With most of its leadership under indictment in a bribery scandal, Crystal City Texas is working to clean a tainted water supply as its school district tries to avoid a threat from state regulators.

The Texas Public Finance Authority, one of the state's primary issuers of general obligation debt, will retain First Southwest Co. and Coastal Securities as its financial advisors for 2016.

Local sales tax collections in Texas fell 0.7% in January, with steeper drops in the state’s energy producing and processing centers, Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar reported.

Houston increased the size of its combined new money and refunding deal to $957 million as the market provided savings of $116.7 million, officials said.