MASTERCARD INCORPORATED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—continued The municipal bond portfolio is comprised of tax exempt bonds and is diversified across states and sectors.
The portfolio has an average credit quality of double-A.
The short-term bond funds invest in fixed income securities, including corporate bonds, mortgage-backed securities and asset-backed securities.
The Company holds investments in ARS.
Interest on these securities is exempt from U. S.  federal income tax and the interest rate on the securities typically resets every 35 days.
The securities are fully collateralized by student loans with guarantees, ranging from approximately 95% to 98% of principal and interest, by the U. S.  government via the Department of Education.
Beginning on February 11, 2008, the auction mechanism that normally provided liquidity to the ARS investments began to fail.
Since mid-February 2008, all investment positions in the Company’s ARS investment portfolio have experienced failed auctions.
The securities for which auctions have failed have continued to pay interest in accordance with the contractual terms of such instruments and will continue to accrue interest and be auctioned at each respective reset date until the auction succeeds, the issuer redeems the securities or they mature.
During 2008, ARS were reclassified as Level 3 from Level 2.
As of December 31, 2010, the ARS market remained illiquid, but issuer call and redemption activity in the ARS student loan sector has occurred periodically since the auctions began to fail.
During 2010 and 2009, the Company did not sell any ARS in the auction market, but there were calls at par.
The table below includes a roll-forward of the Company’s ARS investments from January 1, 2009 to December 31, 2010.
## Table 0 ##
The Company evaluated the estimated impairment of its ARS portfolio to determine if it was other-thantemporary.
The Company considered several factors including, but not limited to, the following: (1) the reasons for the decline in value (changes in interest rates, credit event, or market fluctuations); (2) assessments as to whether it is more likely than not that it will hold and not be required to sell the investments for a sufficient period of time to allow for recovery of the cost basis; (3) whether the decline is substantial; and (4) the historical and anticipated duration of the events causing the decline in value.
The evaluation for other-than-temporary impairments is a quantitative and qualitative process, which is subject to various risks and uncertainties.
The risks and uncertainties include changes in credit quality, market liquidity, timing and amounts of issuer calls and interest rates.
As of December 31, 2010, the Company believed that the unrealized losses on the ARS were not related to credit quality but rather due to the lack of liquidity in the market.
The Company believes that it is more
MASTERCARD INCORPORATED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—continued The Company does not make any contributions to its Postretirement Plan other than funding benefit payments.
The following table summarizes expected net benefit payments from the Company’s general assets through 2020:
## Table 1 ##
The Company provides limited postemployment benefits to eligible former U. S.  employees, primarily severance under a formal severance plan (the “Severance Plan”).
The Company accounts for severance expense by accruing the expected cost of the severance benefits expected to be provided to former employees after employment over their relevant service periods.
The Company updates the assumptions in determining the severance accrual by evaluating the actual severance activity and long-term trends underlying the assumptions.
As a result of updating the assumptions, the Company recorded incremental severance expense related to the Severance Plan of $3 million in each of the years 2010, 2009 and 2008.
These amounts were part of total severance expenses of $39 million, $135 million and $33 million in 2010, 2009 and 2008, respectively, included in general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations.
Note 15.
Debt On November 22, 2010, the Company entered into a committed three-year unsecured $2.75 billion revolving credit facility (the “Credit Facility”) with certain financial institutions.
The Credit Facility, which expires on November 22, 2013, replaced the Company’s prior credit facility which was to expire on April 26, 2011 (the “Prior Credit Facility”).
The available funding under the Prior Credit Facility was $2.5 billion from April 28, 2006 through April 27, 2010 and then decreased to $2 billion for the remaining period of the Prior Credit Facility agreement.
Borrowings under the Credit Facility are available to provide liquidity for general corporate purposes, including providing liquidity in the event of one or more settlement failures by the Company’s customers.
The facility fee and borrowing cost under the Credit Facility are contingent upon the Company’s credit rating.
At December 31, 2010, the applicable facility fee was 20 basis points on the average daily commitment (whether or not utilized).
In addition to the facility fee, interest on borrowings under the Credit Facility would be charged at the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) plus an applicable margin of 130 basis points or an alternate base rate plus 30 basis points.
The Credit Facility contains customary representations, warranties and affirmative and negative covenants, including a maximum level of consolidated debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) financial covenant and events of default.
MasterCard was in compliance with the covenants of the Credit Facility and had no borrowings under the Credit Facility at December 31, 2010.
MasterCard was in compliance with the covenants of the Prior Credit Facility and had no borrowings under the Prior Credit Facility at December 31, 2009.
The majority of Credit Facility lenders are members or affiliates of members of MasterCard International.
In June 1998, MasterCard International issued ten-year unsecured, subordinated notes (the “Notes”) paying a fixed interest rate of 6.67% per annum.
MasterCard repaid the entire principal amount of $80 million on June 30, 2008 pursuant to the terms of the Notes.
MASTERCARD INCORPORATED NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS—continued In September 2010, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a plan for the Company to repurchase up to $1 billion of its Class A common stock in open market transactions.
The Company did not repurchase any shares under this plan during 2010.
As of February 16, 2011, the Company had completed the repurchase of approximately 0.3 million shares of its Class A common stock at a cost of approximately $75 million.
Note 18.
Share Based Payment and Other Benefits In May 2006, the Company implemented the MasterCard Incorporated 2006 Long-Term Incentive Plan, which was amended and restated as of October 13, 2008 (the “LTIP”).
The LTIP is a shareholder-approved omnibus plan that permits the grant of various types of equity awards to employees.
The Company has granted restricted stock units (“RSUs”), non-qualified stock options (“options”) and performance stock units (“PSUs”) under the LTIP.
The RSUs generally vest after three to four years.
The options, which expire ten years from the date of grant, generally vest ratably over four years from the date of grant.
The PSUs generally vest after three years.
Additionally, the Company made a one-time grant to all non-executive management employees upon the IPO for a total of approximately 440 thousand RSUs (the “Founders’ Grant”).
The Founders’ Grant RSUs vested three years from the date of grant.
The Company uses the straight-line method of attribution for expensing equity awards.
Compensation expense is recorded net of estimated forfeitures.
Estimates are adjusted as appropriate.
Upon termination of employment, excluding retirement, all of a participant’s unvested awards are forfeited.
However, when a participant terminates employment due to retirement, the participant generally retains all of their awards without providing additional service to the Company.
Eligible retirement is dependent upon age and years of service, as follows: age 55 with ten years of service, age 60 with five years of service and age 65 with two years of service.
Compensation expense is recognized over the shorter of the vesting periods stated in the LTIP, or the date the individual becomes eligible to retire.
There are 11,550,000 shares of Class A common stock reserved for equity awards under the LTIP.
Although the LTIP permits the issuance of shares of Class B common stock, no such shares have been reserved for issuance.
Shares issued as a result of option exercises and the conversions of RSUs and PSUs are expected to be funded primarily with the issuance of new shares of Class A common stock.
Stock Options The fair value of each option is estimated on the date of grant using a Black-Scholes option pricing model.
The following table presents the weighted-average assumptions used in the valuation and the resulting weightedaverage fair value per option granted for the years ended December 31:
## Table 2 ##
The risk-free rate of return was based on the U. S.  Treasury yield curve in effect on the date of grant.
The Company utilizes the simplified method for calculating the expected term of the option based on the vesting terms and the contractual life of the option.
The expected volatility for options granted during 2010 and 2009 was based on the average of the implied volatility of MasterCard and a blend of the historical volatility of MasterCard and the historical volatility of a group of companies that management believes is generally comparable to
On August 19, 2010, MasterCard entered into an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of DataCash Group plc, a European payment service provider.
Pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement, the Company acquired DataCash on October 22, 2010 at a purchase price of 334 million U. K.  pound sterling, or $534 million.
On December 9, 2010, MasterCard entered into an agreement to acquire Travelex CPM.
Pursuant to the terms of the acquisition agreement, the Company is expected to acquire Travelex CPM at a purchase price of approximately 290 million U. K.  pound sterling, or approximately $458 million, with contingent consideration (an “earn-out”) of up to an additional 35 million U. K.  pound sterling, or approximately $55 million, if certain performance targets are met.
The acquisition is expected to be consummated in the first half of 2011.
In September 2010, the Company’s Board of Directors authorized a plan for the Company to repurchase up to $1 billion of its Class A common stock in open market transactions.
The Company did not repurchase any shares under this plan during 2010.
As of February 16, 2011, the Company had completed the repurchase of approximately 0.3 million shares of its Class A common stock at a cost of approximately $75 million.
The timing and actual number of shares repurchased will depend on a variety of factors, including legal requirements, price and economic and market conditions.
We believe that the cash generated from operations, our borrowing capacity and our access to capital resources are sufficient to meet our future operating capital needs and litigation settlement obligations.
Our liquidity and access to capital could be negatively impacted by the adverse outcome of any of the legal or regulatory proceedings to which we are still a party.
See “Risk Factors-Legal and Regulatory Risks” in Part I, Item 1A; Note 20 (Obligations Under Litigation Settlements) and Note 22 (Legal and Regulatory Proceedings) to the consolidated financial statements included in Part II, Item 8; and “—Business Environment” in Part II, Item 7 for additional discussion of these and other risks facing our business.
Cash Flow The table below shows a summary of the cash flows from operating, investing and financing activities:
## Table 3 ##
Net cash provided by operating activities for the year ended December 31, 2010 was $1.7 billion, compared to $1.4 billion and $413 million in 2009 and 2008, respectively.
In 2010, cash from operations was primarily due to operating income, an increase in settlements due to customers, and an increase in accrued expenses, partially offset by litigation settlement payments, an increase in accounts receivable and income taxes receivable and the effect of stock units withheld for taxes.
In 2009, cash from operations was primarily due to operating income, collections of accounts receivable and income taxes receivable and increases in accrued expenses for personnel and advertising costs, partially offset by approximately $946 million in litigation settlement payments.
In 2008, cash from operations resulted from an increase of $2.5 billion in litigation settlement obligations, partially offset by $1.3 billion in payments for litigation settlements and increases in accounts receivable and income taxes receivable.

<table><tr><td></td><td>Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3) (in millions)</td></tr><tr><td>Fair value, December 31, 2008</td><td>$192</td></tr><tr><td>Calls, at par</td><td>-28</td></tr><tr><td>Recovery of unrealized losses due to issuer calls</td><td>5</td></tr><tr><td>Increase in fair value</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>Fair value, December 31, 2009</td><td>180</td></tr><tr><td>Calls, at par</td><td>-94</td></tr><tr><td>Recovery of unrealized losses due to issuer calls</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td>Increase in fair value</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>Fair value, December 31, 2010</td><td>$106</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td> Benefit Payments</td><td> Expected Subsidy Receipts</td><td> Net Benefit Payments</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="3"> (in millions)</td></tr><tr><td>2011</td><td>$3</td><td>$—</td><td>$3</td></tr><tr><td>2012</td><td>4</td><td>—</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>2013</td><td>4</td><td>—</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>2014</td><td>4</td><td>—</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>2015</td><td>4</td><td>—</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>2016 – 2020</td><td>21</td><td>1</td><td>20</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>2010</td><td>2009</td><td>2008</td></tr><tr><td>Risk-free rate of return</td><td>2.7%</td><td>2.5%</td><td>3.2%</td></tr><tr><td>Expected term (in years)</td><td>6.25</td><td>6.17</td><td>6.25</td></tr><tr><td>Expected volatility</td><td>32.7%</td><td>41.7%</td><td>37.9%</td></tr><tr><td>Expected dividend yield</td><td>0.3%</td><td>0.4%</td><td>0.3%</td></tr><tr><td>Weighted-average fair value per option granted</td><td>$84.62</td><td>$71.03</td><td>$78.54</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td colspan="2">Percent Increase (Decrease)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>2010</td><td>2009</td><td>2008</td><td>2010</td><td>2009</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="5">(in millions, except percentages)</td></tr><tr><td> Cash Flow Data:</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Net cash provided by operating activities</td><td>$1,697</td><td>$1,378</td><td>$413</td><td>23.1%</td><td>233.5%</td></tr><tr><td>Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities</td><td>-641</td><td>-664</td><td>202</td><td>-3.5%</td><td>-429.4%</td></tr><tr><td>Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities</td><td>19</td><td>-185</td><td>-751</td><td>110.9%</td><td>-75.4%</td></tr><tr><td> Balance Sheet Data:</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Current assets</td><td>$6,454</td><td>$5,003</td><td>$4,312</td><td>29.0%</td><td>16.0%</td></tr><tr><td>Current liabilities</td><td>3,143</td><td>3,167</td><td>2,990</td><td>-0.7%</td><td>5.9%</td></tr><tr><td>Long-term liabilities</td><td>478</td><td>791</td><td>1,553</td><td>-39.8%</td><td>-49.1%</td></tr><tr><td>Equity</td><td>5,216</td><td>3,512</td><td>1,932</td><td>48.6%</td><td>81.8%</td></tr></table>

Question: what is the percentual decrease observed in the fair value of ars investments between 2009 and 2008?
Answer: -0.0625