FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

Derivative Instruments and Hedging Activities

We develop, manufacture and sell medical devices globally and our earnings and cash flows are exposed to market risk from changes in foreign currency exchange rates and interest rates. We address these risks through a risk management program that includes the use of derivative financial instruments, and operate the program pursuant to documented corporate risk management policies. We recognize all derivative financial instruments in our consolidated financial statements at fair value in accordance with ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging. In accordance with Topic 815, for those derivative instruments that are designated and qualify as hedging instruments, the hedging instrument must be designated, based upon the exposure being hedged, as a fair value hedge, cash flow hedge, or a hedge of a net investment in a foreign operation. The accounting for changes in the fair value (i.e. gains or losses) of a derivative instrument depends on whether it has been designated and qualifies as part of a hedging relationship and, further, on the type of hedging relationship. Our derivative instruments do not subject our earnings or cash flows to material risk, as gains and losses on these derivatives generally offset losses and gains on the item being hedged. We do not enter into derivative transactions for speculative purposes and we do not have any non-derivative instruments that are designated as hedging instruments pursuant to Topic 815.

Currency Hedging

We are exposed to currency risk consisting primarily of foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities, forecasted foreign currency denominated intercompany and third-party transactions and net investments in certain subsidiaries. We manage our exposure to changes in foreign currency exchange rates on a consolidated basis to take advantage of offsetting transactions. We use both derivative instruments (currency forward and option contracts), and non-derivative transactions (primarily European manufacturing and distribution operations) to reduce the risk that our earnings and cash flows associated with these foreign currency denominated balances and transactions will be adversely affected by foreign currency exchange rate changes.

Designated Foreign Currency Hedges

All of our designated currency hedge contracts outstanding as of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013 were cash flow hedges under Topic 815 intended to protect the U.S. dollar value of our forecasted foreign currency denominated transactions. We record the effective portion of any change in the fair value of foreign currency cash flow hedges in other comprehensive income until the related third-party transaction occurs. Once the related third-party transaction occurs, we reclassify the effective portion of any related gain or loss on the foreign currency cash flow hedge to earnings. In the event the hedged forecasted transaction does not occur, or it becomes no longer probable that it will occur, we reclassify the amount of any gain or loss on the related cash flow hedge to earnings at that time. We had currency derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges outstanding in the contract amount of $2.178 billion as of December 31, 2014 and $2.564 billion as of December 31, 2013.

We recognized net gains of $105 million during 2014 on our cash flow hedges, as compared to $36 million of net gains during 2013, and $39 million of net losses during 2012. All currency cash flow hedges outstanding as of December 31, 2014 mature within 36 months. As of December 31, 2014, $217 million of net gains, net of tax, were recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) to recognize the effective portion of the fair value of any currency derivative instruments that are, or previously were, designated as foreign currency cash flow hedges, as compared to net gains of $139 million as of December 31, 2013. As of December 31, 2014, $128 million of net gains, net of tax, may be reclassified to earnings within the next twelve months.

The success of our hedging program depends, in part, on forecasts of transaction activity in various currencies (primarily Japanese yen, Euro, British pound sterling, Australian dollar and Canadian dollar). We may experience unanticipated currency exchange gains or losses to the extent that there are differences between forecasted and actual activity during periods of currency volatility. In addition, changes in foreign currency exchange rates related to any unhedged transactions may impact our earnings and cash flows.

Non-designated Foreign Currency Contracts

We use currency forward contracts as a part of our strategy to manage exposure related to foreign currency denominated monetary assets and liabilities. These currency forward contracts are not designated as cash flow, fair value or net investment hedges under Topic 815; are marked-to-market with changes in fair value recorded to earnings; and are entered into for periods consistent with currency transaction exposures, generally less than one year. We had currency derivative instruments not designated as hedges under Topic 815 outstanding in the contract amount of $2.470 billion as of December 31, 2014 and $1.952 billion as of December 31, 2013.

Interest Rate Hedging

Our interest rate risk relates primarily to U.S. dollar borrowings, partially offset by U.S. dollar cash investments. We have historically used interest rate derivative instruments to manage our earnings and cash flow exposure to changes in interest rates by converting fixed-rate debt into floating-rate debt or floating-rate debt into fixed-rate debt.

We designate these derivative instruments either as fair value or cash flow hedges under Topic 815. We record changes in the value of fair value hedges in interest expense, which is generally offset by changes in the fair value of the hedged debt obligation. Interest payments made or received related to our interest rate derivative instruments are included in interest expense. We record the effective portion of any change in the fair value of derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges as unrealized gains or losses in OCI, net of tax, until the hedged cash flow occurs, at which point the effective portion of any gain or loss is reclassified to earnings. We record the ineffective portion of our cash flow hedges in interest expense. In the event the hedged cash flow does not occur, or it becomes no longer probable that it will occur, we reclassify the amount of any gain or loss on the related cash flow hedge to interest expense at that time.

In the fourth quarter of 2013, we entered into interest rate derivative contracts having a notional amount of $450 million to convert fixed-rate debt into floating-rate debt, which we designated as fair value hedges, and had $450 million outstanding as of December 31, 2014. We assessed at inception, and re-assess on an ongoing basis, whether the interest rate derivative contracts are highly effective in offsetting changes in the fair value of the hedged fixed rate debt. In 2014, we recognized in interest expense, a $29 million loss on our hedged debt obligations, compared to a $7 million gain on our hedged debt obligation in 2013. We also recognized, in interest expenses, a $29 million gain on the related interest rate derivative contracts during 2014, compared to an $8 million loss on these contracts during 2013. This resulted in net gain of less than $1 million recorded in earning due to ineffectiveness in 2014 and a net loss of $1 million recorded in earnings due to ineffectiveness in 2013.

In prior years, we terminated certain interest rate derivative contracts, including fixed-to-floating interest rate contracts, designated as fair value hedges, and floating-to-fixed treasury locks designated as cash flow hedges. We began amortizing the gains and losses of these derivative instruments upon termination into earnings as a reduction of interest expense over the remaining term of the hedged debt, in accordance with Topic 815. The carrying amount of certain of our senior notes included unamortized gains of $45 million as of December 31, 2014 and $54 million as of December 31, 2013, and unamortized losses of $2 million as of December 31, 2014 and $2 million as of December 31, 2013, related to the fixed-to-floating interest rate contracts. In addition, we had pre-tax net gains within AOCI related to terminated floating-to-fixed treasury locks of $2 million as of December 31, 2014 and $3 million as of December 31, 2013. The gains that we recognized in earnings related to previously terminated interest rate derivatives were $9 million in 2014, $10 million in 2013, and $11 million in 2012. As of December 31, 2014, $9 million of net gains may be reclassified to earnings within the next twelve months from amortization of our previously terminated interest rate derivative contracts.

Counterparty Credit Risk

We do not have significant concentrations of credit risk arising from our derivative financial instruments, whether from an individual counterparty or a related group of counterparties. We manage our concentration of counterparty credit risk on our derivative instruments by limiting acceptable counterparties to a diversified group of major financial institutions with investment grade credit ratings, limiting the amount of credit exposure to each counterparty, and by actively monitoring their credit ratings and outstanding fair values on an on-going basis. Furthermore, none of our derivative transactions are subject to collateral or other security arrangements and none contain provisions that are dependent on our credit ratings from any credit rating agency.

We also employ master netting arrangements that reduce our counterparty payment settlement risk on any given maturity date to the net amount of any receipts or payments due between us and the counterparty financial institution. Thus, the maximum loss due to credit risk by counterparty is limited to the unrealized gains in such contracts net of any unrealized losses should any of these counterparties fail to perform as contracted. Although these protections do not eliminate concentrations of credit risk, as a result of the above considerations, we do not consider the risk of counterparty default to be significant.

Fair Value of Derivative Instruments

The following presents the effect of our derivative instruments designated as cash flow hedges under Topic 815 on our accompanying consolidated statements of operations during 2014, 2013 and 2012 (in millions):



	Amount of Pre-tax Gain (Loss) Recognized in OCI (Effective Portion)		Amount of Pre-tax Gain (Loss) Reclassified from AOCI into Earnings (Effective Portion)			Location in Statement of Operations
Year Ended December 31, 2014
Interest rate contracts	$	—	$	1		Interest expense
Currency hedge contracts	227		105			Cost of products sold
	$	227	$	106
Year Ended December 31, 2013
Interest rate contracts	$	—	$	1		Interest expense
Currency hedge contracts	207		36			Cost of products sold
	$	207	$	37
Year Ended December 31, 2012
Interest rate contracts	$	—	$	2		Interest expense
Currency hedge contracts	95		(39		)	Cost of products sold
	$	95	$	(37	)

We recognized a gain of less than $1 million in 2014, a loss of $1 million in 2013 and a de minimus amount in 2012 in earnings, related to the ineffective portion of our hedging relationships.

Net gains and losses on currency hedge contracts not designated as hedging instruments were offset by net losses and gains from foreign currency transaction exposures, as shown in the following table:



in millions										Location in Statement of Operations
	Year Ended December 31,									Location in Statement of Operations
	2014			2013			2012
Gain (loss) on currency hedge contracts	$	52		$	45		$	23		Other, net
Gain (loss) on foreign currency transaction exposures	(70		)	(56		)	(41		)	Other, net
Net foreign currency gain (loss)	$	(18	)	$	(11	)	$	(18	)

Topic 815 requires all derivative instruments to be recognized at their fair values as either assets or liabilities on the balance sheet. We determine the fair value of our derivative instruments using the framework prescribed by ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, by considering the estimated amount we would receive or pay to transfer these instruments at the reporting date and by taking into account current interest rates, foreign currency exchange rates, the creditworthiness of the counterparty for assets, and our creditworthiness for liabilities. In certain instances, we may utilize financial models to measure fair value. In doing so, we use inputs that include quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; other observable inputs for the asset or liability; and inputs derived principally from, or corroborated by, observable market data by correlation or other means. As of December 31, 2014, we have classified all of our derivative assets and liabilities within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy prescribed by Topic 820, as discussed below, because these observable inputs are available for substantially the full term of our derivative instruments.

The following are the balances of our derivative assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:



		As of
		December 31,		December 31,
(in millions)	Location in Balance Sheet (1)	2014		2013
Derivative Assets:
Designated Hedging Instruments
Currency hedge contracts	Other current assets	$	178	$	117
Currency hedge contracts	Other long-term assets	141		120
Interest rate contracts	Other current assets	3		1
Interest rate contracts	Other long-term assets	22		—
		344		238
Non-Designated Hedging Instruments
Currency hedge contracts	Other current assets	100		27
Total Derivative Assets		$	444	$	265

Derivative Liabilities:
Designated Hedging Instruments
Currency hedge contracts	Other current liabilities	$	1	$	13
Currency hedge contracts	Other long-term liabilities	—		19
Interest rate contracts	Other long-term liabilities	—		8
		1		40
Non-Designated Hedging Instruments
Currency hedge contracts	Other current liabilities	35		23
Total Derivative Liabilities		$	36	$	63


(1)	We classify derivative assets and liabilities as current when the remaining term of the derivative contract is one year or less.

Other Fair Value Measurements

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

On a recurring basis, we measure certain financial assets and financial liabilities at fair value based upon quoted market prices, where available. Where quoted market prices or other observable inputs are not available, we apply valuation techniques to estimate fair value. Topic 820 establishes a three-level valuation hierarchy for disclosure of fair value measurements. The categorization of financial assets and financial liabilities within the valuation hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the measurement of fair value. The three levels of the hierarchy are defined as follows:


•	Level 1 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted market prices for identical assets or liabilities.


•	Level 2 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are other observable inputs, including quoted market prices for similar assets or liabilities and market-corroborated inputs.


•	Level 3 – Inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable inputs based on management’s best estimate of inputs market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date, including assumptions about risk.

Assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis consist of the following as of December 31, 2014 and December 31, 2013:



	As of December 31, 2014								As of December 31, 2013
(in millions)	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
Assets
Money market and government funds	$	151	$	—	$	—	$	151	$	38	$	—	$	—	$	38
Currency hedge contracts	—		419		—		419		—		264		—		264
Interest rate contracts	—		25		—		25		—		1		—		1
	$	151	$	444	$	—	$	595	$	38	$	265	$	—	$	303
Liabilities
Currency hedge contracts	$	—	$	36	$	—	$	36	$	—	$	55	$	—	$	55
Accrued contingent consideration	—		—		274		274		—		—		501		501
Interest rate contracts	—		—		—		—		—		8		—		8
	$	—	$	36	$	274	$	310	$	—	$	63	$	501	$	564

Our investments in money market and government funds are classified within Level 1 of the fair value hierarchy because they are valued using quoted market prices. These investments are classified as cash and cash equivalents within our accompanying consolidated balance sheets, in accordance with U.S. GAAP and our accounting policies.

In addition to $151 million invested in money market and government funds as of December 31, 2014, we had $255 million in short-term time deposits and $181 million in interest bearing and non-interest bearing bank accounts. In addition to $38 million invested in money market and government funds as of December 31, 2013, we had $31 million in short-term time deposits and $148 million in interest bearing and non-interest bearing bank accounts.

Our recurring fair value measurements using significant unobservable inputs (Level 3) relate solely to our contingent consideration liability. Refer to Note B - Acquisitions for a discussion of the changes in the fair value of our contingent consideration liability.

Non-Recurring Fair Value Measurements

We hold certain assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis in periods subsequent to initial recognition. The fair value of a cost method investment is not estimated if there are no identified events or changes in circumstances that may have a significant adverse effect on the fair value of the investment. The aggregate carrying amount of our cost method investments was $27 million as of December 31, 2014 and $20 million as of December 31, 2013.

During 2014 and 2013, we recorded charges of $195 million and $476 million, respectively, to adjust our goodwill and certain other intangible asset balances to their fair value. Refer to Note D - Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets, for further detailed information related to these charges and significant unobservable inputs.

The fair value of our outstanding debt obligations was $4.613 billion as of December 31, 2014 and $4.602 billion as of December 31, 2013, which was determined by using quoted market prices for our publicly-registered senior notes, classified as Level 1 within the fair value hierarchy. Refer to Note F – Borrowings and Credit Arrangements for a discussion of our debt obligations.