Southeast

Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has initiated a pilot program to prop up the state's financially ailing rural hospitals.

The Kentucky House has passed major legislation that would authorize the state to use public-private partnerships.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating bonds issued in 2013 by the former scandal-ridden Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority and underwritten by Citi.

Arkansas saw the largest drop in the percentage of uninsured in 2014, followed closely by Kentucky, according to a recent Gallup poll.

Issuers in the Southeast sold $48.8 billion of municipal bonds in 2014, according to Thomson Reuters, down 14.3% from 2013 to decline for the second consecutive year.

The New Orleans Aviation Board plans to bring $590 million of general airport revenue bonds to market Thursday amid an above-average issuance calendar.

Standard & Poor's lowered its underlying rating to BB-plus from BBB on the general obligation bonds of the Dublin School District, Ga., citing its structural budget imbalance.

Louisiana state agencies can expect "significant cuts" in the 2016 budget but Gov. Bobby Jindal is expected to recommend "structural fixes" to the spending plan.

A bill before the West Virginia Legislature would provide bond financing to build a state-owned fiber optic network to bring fast Internet service to rural areas of the state.

Stifel Financial Corp. reportedly is in talks to buy Sterne Agee Group Inc., continuing an acquisition spree that's vaulted the St. Louis based brokerage and investment banking firm into the top 10 among municipal underwriters.