| A rare outbreak of common sense at the SEC. This provides some needed slip in the 'mark-to-market' rule which is what the market needs for now. |
Under pressure from banks and legislators, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued an interpretation of an accounting standard that could make it easier for banks to report smaller losses, or perhaps even profits, when they announce results for the third quarter, which ended Tuesday.
The move on Tuesday drew praise from the American Bankers Association, which had complained to the S.E.C. that auditors were forcing banks to value assets at unrealistically low "fire sale" prices, rather than at the higher values the banks believe the assets should be worth in an orderly market.
Some congressmen had pressed to order a suspension of the fair-value rule, known as S.F.A.S 157, as part of the bailout bill that the House defeated on Monday but that may be revived later in the week. That bill stopped short of that, but did require a study of the rule and authorized the S.E.C. to suspend it. |