Under the change, any actuarial gainsorlossesoutside a 10 percent rangewill berecognizedduringthe fourthquarteras amark-to-marketadjustmentincludedinpensionandpost-retirementexpenses.
The bulk of the 2010 loss was posted in December, when the performance of Fund I, which is 63% invested in private holdings, dropped by an estimated 26.9%, suggesting a significant mark-to-market adjustment while the stock market was zooming higher.
The tactics of Yorkville Advisors have been the subject of several Forbes articles, which noted that one Yorkville fund, YA Global Investment Fund I, never had a down month from February 2001 to July 2008 until a stunning reversal saw it report a drop of 33% in 2010, most of it in the single month of December 2010, suggesting a big mark-to-market adjustment while the stock market was rising.
As Portugal passes the halfway mark of its three-year adjustment program, the steep tax increases facing many families have made the outlook for 2013 -- the third consecutive year of austerity, recession and rising unemployment -- the grimmest yet.