The Stock Markets are in positive territory for the year and all is being predicted as well.  Yesterday the markets went up, presumably because of the way that Obama is handling the global economic situation.  But that may not be the whole truth.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) voted Thursday to let US banks set their own prices for assets in earnings reports, regardless of current prices.

The move, which was heavily lobbied for by Wall Street, is expected to increase bank earnings by 20 percent in the next quarter. Richard Dietrich, an accounting professor at Ohio State University, told Bloomberg News that the decision would allow Citigroup to reduce its reported losses by 50 to 70 percent.

The announcement sparked a rally on the stock market, led by financial companies. Citigroup stock rose 8.6 percent, Bank of America soared 9.6 percent and Wells Fargo rose 10.5 percent. The rally subsided later in the day, but financial stocks retained significant gains and the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed with a gain of more than 216 points.

Banks are currently required to calculate their earnings, under so-called “mark to market” accounting rules, according to the current market value of the securities they hold, but the new measure would allow them to value assets using their own internal models where the assets would otherwise be sold into a “distressed” market. Banks have argued that markets are not pricing financial assets fairly, causing credit to dry up and exacerbating the crisis.

Now, the banks are to be allowed to use the same obscure and discredited financial models to inflate their balance sheets, based on the claim that markets have ceased to “fairly” reflect the real value of their illiquid assets. This is little more than an excuse to line the pockets of CEOs, hedge fund managers and big investors.

Once again the Wall Street thieves get their way, they get to keep their millions and they get to keep their thieving ways.