ON THE MONEY

U.S.A.! Fitch keeps nation default rating at AAA

Fitch Ratings affirmed the United States’ long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings at “AAA,” citing the country’s “unparalleled” financing flexibility as the issuer of the world’s pre-eminent reserve currency and benchmark fixed-income asset.

The U.S. enjoys better growth prospects than most of the developed world, Fitch said. It expects the U.S. economy to grow 3% in 2015 before slowing slightly in 2016.

Abbott Labs, AbbVie to face old lawsuit

Abbott Laboratories and spinoff AbbVie Inc. were ordered to face a 2013 lawsuit charging they marketed epilepsy drug Depakote for unapproved uses and violated racketeering laws.

A trio of union health benefit funds claimed the companies’ actions compelled them to pay for prescriptions to treat conditions for which there was no proof Depakote was effective.

Cable-cutters to grow this year: analyst

The number of U.S. households dropping or choosing not to sign up for traditional cable or satellite TV service will rise 5% to 1.32 million this year, fueling changes in the way TV is delivered and watched.

Non-pay-TV households comprise consumers canceling subscriptions and new residents who forgo service, said Brahm Eiley, Convergence Consulting Group media analyst.

Stock plunge ahead of bust earnings week

U.S. stocks fell as General Electric retreated from a sixyear high, leading industrial companies lower while investors awaited this week’s corporate earnings reports. GE slid 3.1% after its biggest rally Friday since 2009. The S&P 500 declined 0.5%, and the Nasdaq fell 0.2%, erasing a gain that took it above 5,000 for the first time in three weeks.

The Dow Jones fell 80.61 points, or 0.5%, to 17,977.04.