SEC expected to keep mark-to-market accounting rule

Rather than suspending the controversial mark-to-market accounting rule, the Securities and Exchange Commission is planning to refine its application, a source told The Wall Street Journal. Congress has ordered the SEC to complete a study on the rule, but new guidance on applying the rule won't likely be included in the study. Lobbyists for the banking industry have been urging the SEC to allow greater flexibility in the application of the rule, which they say is behind the financial meltdown.