Southwest

The Navajo Nation closed its first-ever bond transaction this week when it sold $52.9 million of investment-grade general obligation bonds in a private placement.

The Internal Revenue Service has sent a final notice to the City of Scottsdale, Ariz., Municipal Property Corp. claiming that some of the $65 million of bonds issued in 2013 to refinance the initial term of a lease for a garage are taxable.

Already endangered by state and federal spending cuts, many rural hospitals in Texas are facing additional strain from falling oil and gas prices.

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback ordered $123 million in spending cuts, transfers and other measures as state revenue estimates continued to fall in November.

The South San Antonio Independent School District failed to use proper financial controls and failed to disclose conflicts of interest in carrying out its 2010 bond program, according to an investigation by the Texas Education Agency.

Texas voters approved $8.7 billion of the $9.1 billion of bonds on local ballots, according to the latest tabulations.

A property tax cut approved by Texas voters Nov. 3 will lower school funding by about $1.2 billion over two years, but credit ratings should not be affected, Fitch Ratings says.

A decline in Texas school district revenue streams of approximately $1.2 billion per biennium should not affect their bond ratings, Fitch Ratings says.

A healthy increase in sales and use tax revenue indicates growing consumer confidence, Arkansas officials said.

Pima County, Ariz., voters delivered a harsh verdict Nov. 3, rejecting all seven bond propositions by decisive margins.