Ok I'll bite, what happens March 12th? Ah, I see, shuffling the paper. CITI may even get to $4 whole dollars.

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6:17 PM ET Friday, 6 Mar 2009
UPDATE: Stocks Could Skyrocket After March 12th
Posted By: Lee Brodie
Topics:Stock Market | Stock Picks
Sectors:Financial Services


Investors such as Jon Najarian are hopeful that stocks could soar next week. They say we could see an explosion to the upside after a meeting scheduled for March 12th.

On that date, a House financial services subcommittee plans a hearing on mark-to-market accounting rules, which have been blamed for forcing banks to report billions of dollars in write-downs.

Karen Finerman has long been an advocate of putting these rules on hiatus for a while and “letting the banks breathe.”



If that meeting results in the government relaxing mark-to-market rules, optionMonster Jon Najarian thinks the stock market could explode. On Wednesday he told us, “if the government relaxes mark-to-market for 12 to 18 months you could see financials move 100% in a matter of hours.”

And he went on to say, “In fact, I hope you’ll replay the soundbite because if the government relaxes mark-to-market accounting a number of banks stocks will be unbelievable values at these levels.”



Background

U.S. industry groups have urged the SEC and FASB to significantly alter or suspend the accounting rule, saying it is undermining the government's multibillion-dollar effort to stabilize the financial sector.

Mark-to-market accounting requires assets to be valued at current market prices. Some banks say it forces them to mark down assets to artificially low prices in the current financial crisis, even when banks intend to hold the assets past the current reporting period.