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The prospects the the reform and possible for suspension of mark to market accounting rules are looking brighter this morning. About an hour ago, at 10 am, the House Financial Services Subcommittee began its hearings on the issue. Right off the bat, the chairman of the panel signalled strong support for reform.

Congressman Paul Kanjorski said he might force the hands of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Accounting Standards Board by introducing legislation to require reform. This is a 180 degree turn for Pennsylvania Democrat, who had previously said Congress shouldn't intervene in establishing accounting rules such as the so-called mark-to-market standards now at issue.

The news of this stance is spreading across trading floors. It is generally viewed as a strongly bullish sign, providing relief to troubled financial institutions that may be in peril of falling under regulatory captial and reserve requirements.

http://www.businessinsider.com/congress ... ket-2009-3

Financial Gurus - opinions?

Good...I think.....does anyone really know?

yep. mark to market was what allowed Enron to look a LOT healthier than it was. basically it means being able to count future projected revenue as revenue... it's really f'd up.

that, and Michele Bachmann thinks it's a good idea... so it must be completely mental.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, which sets U.S. accounting rules, on Monday proposed allowing companies to exercise more judgment in determining if a market for an asset is active and if a transaction is "distressed."

FASB put the proposals out for comment, with the hope of having the mark-to-market accounting guidance approved in time for companies to use it when preparing their first-quarter financial reports.

Board members said the guidance could help boost fair values, or mark-to-market values, and get investors more interested in U.S. banks. (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski; editing by John Wallace)



http://www.reuters.com/article/americas ... 0320090316