S&P, Moody's settle two debt ratings suits, AP reports

McGraw-Hill (MHP) owned Standard & Poor's, Moody's (MCO) and Morgan Stanley (MS) have settled two lawsuits, one from a county in Washington state and the other from Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, that alleged the ratings agencies and the investment bank hid the risk of investing in a fund that purchased subprime mortgage bonds, reported Associated Press. A New York federal court dismissed the suits with prejudice on Friday, meaning they cannot be filed again, and spokesmen for S&P and Morgan confirmed the settlements but did not disclose terms, AP added. The Fly notes that shares of Moody's are trading over 3% higher this morning, while McGraw-Hill shares are up nearly 2% in pre-market trading.