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Including the current and noncurrent portions, carrying value as of the balance sheet date of long-term unsecured obligations issued by corporations and other borrowers to investors (with maturities initially due after one year or beyond the operating cycle if longer).

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Debt (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
Debt (Details) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Commercial paper outstanding	$ 100,000,000		$ 100,000,000
Principal amount	2,952,064,000us-gaap_LongTermDebt		2,952,064,000us-gaap_LongTermDebt	3,226,943,000us-gaap_LongTermDebt
Less: unamortized discount	6,269,000		6,269,000	6,653,000
Plus: unamortized interest rate swap proceeds	29,436,000		29,436,000	31,716,000
Total debt	2,975,231,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentCarryingAmount		2,975,231,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentCarryingAmount	3,252,006,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentCarryingAmount
Less: current portion long-term debt	420,914,000us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent		420,914,000us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent	324,879,000us-gaap_LongTermDebtCurrent
Long-term debt	2,554,317,000us-gaap_LongTermDebtNoncurrent		2,554,317,000us-gaap_LongTermDebtNoncurrent	2,927,127,000us-gaap_LongTermDebtNoncurrent
Repayments of debt	274,879,000us-gaap_RepaymentsOfLongTermDebt	499,850,000us-gaap_RepaymentsOfLongTermDebt
Notes due March 2015
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.00%		5.00%
Debt instrument, face amount	0		0	274,879,000
Repayments of debt			275,000,000
Notes due January 2016
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	4.75%		4.75%
Debt instrument, face amount	370,914,000		370,914,000	370,914,000
Notes due September 2017
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.75%		5.75%
Debt instrument, face amount	385,109,000		385,109,000	385,109,000
Notes due March 2018
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.60%		5.60%
Debt instrument, face amount	250,000,000		250,000,000	250,000,000
Notes due May 2018
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	4.75%		4.75%
Debt instrument, face amount	350,000,000		350,000,000	350,000,000
Notes due March 2019
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	6.25%		6.25%
Debt instrument, face amount	300,000,000		300,000,000	300,000,000
Notes due November 2022
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.25%		5.25%
Debt instrument, face amount	110,000,000		110,000,000	110,000,000
Notes due March 2024
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	4.625%		4.625%
Debt instrument, face amount	500,000,000		500,000,000	500,000,000
State of CT DECD loan due November 2024
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	2.00%		2.00%
Debt instrument, face amount	16,000,000		16,000,000	16,000,000
Notes due January 2037
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	5.25%		5.25%
Debt instrument, face amount	115,041,000		115,041,000	115,041,000
Notes due March 2043
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Interest rate	6.70%		6.70%
Debt instrument, face amount	425,000,000		425,000,000	425,000,000
Term loans
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount	$ 130,000,000		$ 130,000,000	$ 130,000,000
Commercial Paper
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Effective interest rate	0.54%		0.54%