SECURITIES

FASB Calls for Faster Derivatives Disclosure: Companies will have to acknowledge gains and losses from derivatives faster than they do now under a proposal by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The proposal would give companies a choice in how they account for derivatives. Companies could report changes in the value of a derivative in their earnings for the fiscal period when the change takes place, or they could make an adjustment to their asset value when the contract is initiated and make changes in earnings only when the contract is concluded and gains or losses are realized. Another choice would be to have companies “mark to market,” or report the value of the contracts at the price they would fetch in the open market.