Southwest

DALLAS — The Texas A&M University System will offer one of the largest Southwest deals Tuesday in a lean municipal market.

AUSTIN — Texas faces a severe budget shortfall of $15-$27 billion over the next two years, but a deeper threat to its AA-plus credit rating is a structural imbalance in how it finances schools, according to Standard & Poor’s analyst Horacio Aldrete-Sanchez.

DALLAS — Texas schools are waiting to see how deeply the Legislature cuts their funding before seeking more bond authority from taxpayers, finance experts say.

DALLAS — The Kansas House has approved a plan that resolves a revenue shortfall in fiscal 2011 by cutting state aid to local school districts and reducing salaries for some government executives.

DALLAS — Glendale, Ariz., is taking a downgrade as it prepares to issue $116 million of revenue bonds to keep the National Hockey League’s Phoenix Coyotes playing in city-owned Jobing.com arena.

DALLAS — A bill introduced by Arizona House Speaker Kirk Adams would reduce pension obligations by extending the retirement age to 65 and requiring police officers and firefighters to contribute more toward their benefits.

DALLAS — Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin used her first state of the state address to lawmakers on Monday to propose a $6.33 billion budget for fiscal 2012 that covers an expected $600 million shortfall next year.

DALLAS — Analysts say that debt ratings for international toll bridges in Texas are bearing up under the stress of continuing drug violence in Mexico and recent traffic declines due to additional crossing points.

DALLAS — Arkansas had the largest January revenue collection in its history last month, but the flow of money still fell short of expectations as the state continued its uneven recovery from the 18-month recession that ended in June 2009.

DALLAS — Houston is preparing to add a third professional stadium to the downtown area after the City Council approved plans Wednesday to build an $80 million home for the Dynamo professional soccer team.