| QUOTE |
| NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks jumped 4 percent on Thursday after world leaders agreed to pump an additional trillion dollars into the economy to fight the financial crisis and on rule changes aimed at giving banks flexibility when dealing with toxic assets. Leaders of the G20 announced an additional $500 billion for the International Monetary Fund, plus $250 billion in IMF Special Drawing Rights and $250 billion to boost trade, to fight the worst economic crisis since the 1930s. Adding to the positive tone, shares of large manufacturers such as Caterpillar Inc (NYSE:CAT - News) rose on hopes the economy may be stabilizing. Government data showed U.S. factory orders rose in February for the first time in seven months. Financial shares, a key driver of the recent rally, surged on bets for an improving global economy and relaxation of accounting rules that have resulted in sharp hits to their balance sheets. Shares of Bank of America (NYSE:BAC - News) climbed 4.3 percent to $7.35 while Citigroup (NYSE:C - News) rose 1.9 percent to $2.73. The KBW Bank index (Philadelphia:^BKX - News) advanced 2.5 percent. "Simply put," the accounting rule change "has the potential to take some of the volatility out of the financial services' income statements," said Craig Peckham, equity trading strategist at Jefferies & Company in New York. "That has been one of the elements that's made it hard to own financials over the last year." The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI:^DJI - News) gained 271.04 points, or 3.49 percent, to 8,032.64, after earlier climbing to a session high of 8,075.73. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (^SPX - News) jumped 28.52 points, or 3.52 percent, to 839.60, near a session high of 845.61. The Nasdaq Composite Index (Nasdaq:^IXIC - News) rallied 60.02 points, or 3.87 percent, to 1,611.62, after earlier rising as high as 1623.34. Thursday's rally helped the S&P 500 rise nearly 25 percent from 12-year lows reached early last month and cut its year-to-date losses to around 7 percent. The Nasdaq is now up more than 2 percent for the year. The industrial sector was among the top gainers in a broad-based rally, as U.S. data showed new orders received by factories rose 1.8 percent in February after a 3.5 percent drop in January, breaking a six-month streak of declines and boosting hopes the economy may be starting to climb out of recession. Shares of construction, mining and forestry machinery manufacturer Caterpillar jumped 9 percent to $31.61 while aerospace technology provider United Technologies Corp (NYSE:UTX - News) climbed 5.6 percent to $46.33. "People woke up and looked at the body of economic data that's come out over the last 24 hours, and people are starting to feel like we may be seeing the early stages of the turn," Peckham added. Shares of IBM (NYSE:IBM - News) traded above $100 for the first time since early October and were the top boost to the Dow industrials. Chevron (NYSE:CVX - News) gave another boost to the blue-chip Dow industrials, up 3.7 percent at $70.85 as crude oil futures shot up 8 percent, or $3.87, to $52.26 a barrel on optimism for an economic recovery. Shares of General Motors (NYSE:GM - News) surged nearly 10 percent to $2.12 a day after executives said March auto sales pointed to the "first signs of brightening" in the auto industry. |
| QUOTE (MyNameIs_Mud @ Apr 2 2009, 09:12 PM) |
| "Accounting-rule changes" means reshuffling the deck chair on the Titanic, or kicking the can down the road. Or both. |
| QUOTE (Willieisdead @ Apr 3 2009, 11:11 AM) |
| Mark-to-market goes back into effect in 2007 and the mortgage problem accelerates....coincidence? Inquiring minds want to know! :think: |
| QUOTE (no one in particular @ Apr 3 2009, 10:37 AM) | ||
are you really trying to draw a causal relationship? jesus christ... enough is enough. The change for mark-to-market doesn't eliminate the practice, it only affords them a new method of valuation. But this was a window dressing change anyway... since investors already have the info they need to identify where the junk values are. Bad debt is bad debt. Changing the way you ACCOUNT for that bad debt doesn't change a thing. It just makes the poor investors feel better about themselves. |
| QUOTE (no one in particular @ Apr 3 2009, 03:37 PM) | ||
are you really trying to draw a causal relationship? jesus christ... enough is enough. The change for mark-to-market doesn't eliminate the practice, it only affords them a new method of valuation. But this was a window dressing change anyway... since investors already have the info they need to identify where the junk values are. Bad debt is bad debt. Changing the way you ACCOUNT for that bad debt doesn't change a thing. It just makes the poor investors feel better about themselves. |
| QUOTE (Willieisdead @ Apr 3 2009, 07:46 PM) |
| No clown-boy, I wasn't. Again, if you're going to read my mind you've got to do a better job! |
| QUOTE |
| Mark-to-market goes back into effect in 2007 and the mortgage problem accelerates....coincidence? |
| QUOTE (no one in particular @ Apr 4 2009, 07:56 AM) |
| perfect. it's been a long time since I had a conversation with a bona fide retard. |
| QUOTE (no one in particular @ Apr 3 2009, 03:37 PM) |
| since investors already have the info they need to identify where the junk values are |
| QUOTE (no one in particular @ Apr 4 2009, 11:15 AM) |
| yes you were, you f'ing idiot. |
| QUOTE (no one in particular @ Apr 6 2009, 09:01 AM) |
| WWW's played-out fall back option: "Why don't you try to read my mind then?" The answer's still the same, pally. Thanks but no thanks. If you're incapable of making a point, then the problem is with you, not me. Get back to me when it's worth my while. |
| QUOTE |
| FASB tightens off-balance-sheet loan rules FASB ending device that kept loans off banks' balance sheets without disclosure, capital Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writer On Monday May 18, 2009, 12:44 pm EDT Buzz up! Print WASHINGTON (AP) -- The board that sets U.S. accounting standards on Monday moved to end companies' use of a device that allowed them to park hundreds of billions of dollars in loans off their balance sheets without capital cushions and has been blamed for helping stoke banks' losses in the housing boom. The change will tighten the use of so-called "qualified special purpose entities" by requiring companies to report to regulators the loans contained in them and to increase their capital reserves in proportion as a cushion against potential losses. It was the lack of disclosure and absence of capital supporting ballooning subprime mortgage loans in these special entities that aggravated the massive losses sustained by banks, regulators say. The Financial Accounting Standards Board said the rule change was intended "to improve consistency and transparency in financial reporting." The FASB voted to adopt it at a public meeting of its five-member board at its headquarters in Norwalk, Conn. A revised proposal had been opened to a public comment period that ended in November. The change by FASB cuts in the opposite direction of its move last month -- surrounded by controversy and with some dissension by board members -- giving companies more leeway in valuing assets and reporting losses. That revision in the so-called "mark-to-market" accounting rules was expected to help boost battered banks' balance sheets, while the new rule change likely will result in financial institutions recognizing on their books billions in high-risk loans that may default. FASB acted on the mark-to-market rules amid intense pressure from Congress, which threatened legislation. The board received hundreds of comment letters opposing the move from mutual funds, accounting firms and others contending that it would damage honest financial reckoning by masking the deficiencies and risks lurking within the system. |