By Cydney Posner

The Washington Post reports today that, under pressure from Congress and the financial community, FASB has voted to ease the mark-to-market accounting rules, which ordinarily require certain assets to be valued at prices reflecting current market conditions. A NYT article reports that the decision will allow the assets to be valued at prices that could be obtained in an "orderly" sale, as opposed to a forced or distressed sale, thus allowing the use of more judgment. Some have argued that this change could gum up Secretary Geithner's legacy (toxic) asset plan, because banks will now adjust up (some might say "mask" or "reinflate") the value of the toxic assets and may not be willing to sell them with the type of haircut Treasury was expecting.

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