TXU Energy, the largest electricity retailer in north Texas, said Wednesday they are lowering their rates for the customers. TXU Energy Spokes woman Sophia Stoller said, the TXU energy rates which were, 15.9 cents per kilowatt-hour for usage of 1,000 kwh a month. The rate will drop by 7% on average, though some will drop as much as 15%.

Texas second largest energy retailer, Reliant Energy, based out of Houston, has made a similar changes in May and June. They lowered their rates as much as 20%.

Though even with these reductions customers could still find lower rates by shopping around for the best deal for what they want.

Conocophillips has reported that they has lost 76% of their profit. They are the second major oil to report similar loses in two days. They are reporting that the over the past few years the fall in gas prices and lousy refining results is the reason for their second quarter downfall.

Guaranty Financial Group Inc, the second largest publicly traded bank in Texas, said they will probably fall after loan losses and write-downs left them critically short of capital. One source, requesting to remain anonymous, because the meetings are still being kept secret, said the Financial Group is talking with at least one investor group for a possible recapitalization. If Guaranty Financial Group were to fail they would be the largest US Bank to collapse in 2009. So far there have been 64 banks to fail this year including seven on Friday. Guaranty does not expect to raise enough capital to meet the an April cease and desist order from the federal office of thrift supervision.

Economic activity in the Feds Dallas district, which include Texas and parts of Louisiana and New Mexico, "Remained mostly steady at subdued levels in June and early July." A Federal Reserve snapshot of the economic conditions issued Wednesday showed that most of the Feds 12 regions were beginning to shed the recession or the region is beginning to stabilize, even if is at a small increments. Though the economy still is fragile, the fact remains that some of the Feds regions show good signs of beginning to stabilize. These signs bring hope that this recession may finally be drawing to a close.