Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Jan. 02, 2015

For assets and liabilities measured at fair value, such amounts are based on an expected exit price representing the amount that would be received on the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability, as the case may be, in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value may be based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability. The authoritative guidance on fair value measurements establishes a consistent framework for measuring fair value on either a recurring or nonrecurring basis whereby inputs, used in valuation techniques, are assigned a hierarchical level. The following are the hierarchical levels of inputs to measure fair value:


•	Level 1: Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets.


•	Level 2: Observable inputs that reflect quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in markets that are not active; quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities in active markets; inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the assets or liabilities; or inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.


•	Level 3: Unobservable inputs reflecting our own assumptions incorporated in valuation techniques used to determine fair value. These assumptions are required to be consistent with market participant assumptions that are reasonably available.

Assets measured and recorded at fair value on a recurring basis

Cash equivalents. Cash equivalents consist of money market funds that are classified as Level 1, and corporate securities and commercial paper classified as Level 2, all of which have an original maturity of three months or less, and the carrying amount is a reasonable estimate of fair value.

Short-term investments. Short-term investments consist of U.S. government securities with original maturities greater than three months and are classified as recurring Level 1. Also included in short-term investments are commercial paper, federal agency and corporate and international government securities with original maturities greater than three months, which are classified as Level 2. Short-term investments are priced using inputs such as actual trade data, benchmark yields, broker/dealer quotes, and other similar data, which are obtained from quoted market prices, independent pricing vendors, or other sources, to determine the fair value of these assets. Marketable equity securities are classified as Level 1 and are recorded at fair value using quoted prices in active markets for identical assets.

There have been no transfers between fair value measurement levels during the nine months ended January 2, 2015. The following table summarizes our assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis, by level, within the fair value hierarchy:



	January 2, 2015						March 28, 2014
	Level 1		Level 2		Total		Level 1		Level 2		Total

	(Dollars in millions)
Cash equivalents	$	1,503	$	67	$	1,570	$	2,380	$	40	$	2,420
Short-term investments:
Corporate bonds	—		270		270		—		120		120
U.S. government securities	299		—		299		95		—		95
U.S. agency securities	—		82		82		—		45		45
Commercial paper	—		221		221		—		24		24
Other investments	—		99		99		—		47		47
Marketable equity securities	5		—		5		6		—		6

Fair value of debt

As of January 2, 2015 and March 28, 2014, the fair value of the Company’s current and long-term debt was $2.2 billion based on Level 2 inputs.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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