Southwest

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.

Oklahoma revenues for February ran 18% below projections as the state Legislature grapples with a budget gap of more than $900 million.

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.

Criticizing lawmakers for taking a piecemeal approach to capital projects, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez used her line-item veto to reduce a severance-tax bond package.

With revenue rising more than 28% in February, Arkansas is on track to a $35.9 million surplus by the end of the fiscal year, state officials said.

Oklahoma will use $78.5 million from its rainy day fund to operate public schools and prisons in the current fiscal year, Gov. Mary Fallin announced.

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.