Southwest

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.

Standard & Poor's has withdrawn its D rating on a Glendale, Ariz., plant designed to convert trash into energy after the project defaulted on its October bond payment.

Kansas revenues have fallen short of projections for the fourth consecutive month, according to the state's October report.

Blaming rising pension costs, two rating agencies have downgraded Dallas' general obligation rating as the city prepares to issue $227 million of bonds.

In another sign of Texas' faltering energy economy, sales tax revenue for October fell 5.4%, according to Comptroller Glenn Hegar.

Texas voters approved a new transportation funding formula that could provide $2.5 billion for highways, but the money will not start flowing right away.

Like Depression-era Arkansas, Puerto Rico took on too much debt, leading to a crisis when the worldwide economy shrank. But there are some key differences.