“(Reuters) - Ratings firm Standard & Poor's will pay $1.5 billion to resolve a series of lawsuits over its ratings on mortgage securities that soured in the run up to the 2008 financial crisis, the company said on Tuesday. The settlement comes after more than two years of litigation as S&P fought allegations it issued overly rosy ratings in order to win more business. S&P parent McGraw Hill Financial Inc (MHFI.N) said it will pay $687.5 million to the U.S. Department of Justice, and $687.5 million to 19 states and the District of Columbia, which had filed similar lawsuits over the ratings.” Full article »