STOCK MARKET WATCH -- Thursday, 29 January 2015

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31. S&P CLOSE TO $1.37B DEAL OVER RISKY MORTGAGE BOND RATINGS

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SP_MORTGAGE_RATINGS_SETTLEMENT?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2015-01-28-19-10-43

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Standard & Poor's is close to a $1.37 billion settlement with the Obama administration and U.S. states over allegations it knowingly inflated its ratings of risky mortgage investments that helped trigger the financial crisis.

The credit rating agency is expected to sign an agreement to settle with the Justice Department and about 20 state attorneys general, a person familiar with the matter said Wednesday. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the settlement isn't finalized and hasn't been announced. It may be completed next week, the person said.

John Piecuch, a spokesman for New York-based S&P, a division of McGraw Hill Financial Inc., said the company declined to comment.

The settlement would resolve civil charges filed nearly two years ago accusing S&P of failing to warn investors that the housing market was collapsing in 2006 because doing so would hurt its ratings business.