Accounting rule change makes Fannie Mae losses look better

Bloomberg.com: Worldwide: "Freddie Mac Accounting Cuts Losses By $2.6 Billion (Update1)

By Dawn Kopecki
May 14 (Bloomberg) -- Freddie Mac, the second-largest U.S. mortgage-finance company, reported a smaller loss than analysts estimated after accounting changes reduced charges by at least $2.6 billion.
Without the use of two new accounting rules, Freddie Mac would have posted a loss of at least $1.7 billion, analysts said. A change in the way the company values some assets that aren't traded reduced credit losses by $1.3 billion, while a separate rule that lets the company pick and choose which assets to measure contributed an equal amount, Freddie Mac said"