Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Investments In Available-For-Sale Securities And Other Cost Investments

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Investments In Available-For-Sale Securities And Other Cost Investments
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Investments In Available-For-Sale Securities And Other Cost Investments  
Investments in available-for-sale securities and other cost investments [Text Block]
Investments in Available-for-Sale Securities and Other Cost Investments
All marketable equity and debt securities held by the Company are classified as available-for-sale ("AFS") and are carried at fair value generally based on quoted market prices. GAAP permits entities to choose to measure many financial instruments, such as AFS securities, and certain other items at fair value and to recognize the changes in fair value of such instruments in the entity's statement of operations. The Company previously had entered into economic hedges for certain of its non-strategic AFS securities (although such instruments were not accounted for as fair value hedges by the Company). Changes in the fair value of those economic hedges were reflected in the Company's statement of operations as unrealized gains (losses). In order to better match the changes in fair value of the subject AFS securities and the changes in fair value of the corresponding economic hedges in the Company's financial statements, the Company has elected to account for those of its AFS securities which it considers to be non-strategic ("Fair Value Option Securities") at fair value. Accordingly, changes in the fair value of Fair Value Option Securities, as determined by quoted market prices, are reported in realized and unrealized gains (losses) on financial instruments in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.
Investments in AFS securities, including Fair Value Option Securities separately aggregated, and other cost investments are summarized as follows:
 
December 31, 2013
 
December 31,
2012
 
amounts in millions
Fair Value Option Securities
 
 
 
  Time Warner Inc.(a)
$
297

 
211

  Time Warner Cable Inc. (a)
320

 
230

  Viacom, Inc. (a)
317

 
192

  CenturyLink, Inc.

 
70

  Barnes & Noble, Inc.
255

 
262

  Other equity securities
37

 
58

  Other debt securities
27

 
56

Total Fair Value Option Securities
1,253

 
1,079

 AFS and cost investments
 
 
 
  SIRIUS XM debt securities (b)

 
249

  Live Nation debt securities
24

 
25

Other AFS and cost investments
47

 
39

Total AFS and cost investments
71

 
313


$
1,324

 
1,392

___________________________
(a)
See note 11 for details regarding the number and fair value of shares pledged as collateral pursuant to certain margin loan agreements as of December 31, 2013.
(b)
On January 18, 2013, as discussed in note 4, Liberty acquired an additional 50 million common shares and acquired a controlling interest in SIRIUS XM and as a result consolidates SIRIUS XM as of such date. Therefore, the related SIRIUS XM debt securities are considered effectively settled upon consolidation.
Unrealized Holding Gains and Losses
Unrealized holding gains and losses related to investments in AFS securities are summarized below.
 
December 31, 2013
 
December 31, 2012
 
Equity
securities
 
Debt
securities
 
Equity
securities
 
Debt
securities
 
amounts in millions
Gross unrealized holding gains
$
6

 
1

 
2

 
37

Gross unrealized holding losses
$

 

 

 

        
Liberty reclassified approximately 40 million of pre-tax previously unrealized gains in the consolidated statement of operations in gains (losses) on transactions, net during the year ended December 31, 2013 due to the application of purchase accounting and the effective settlement of SIRIUS XM debt securities previously accounted for as available-for-sale securities through other comprehensive earnings (loss). Additionally, Liberty had no securities in a loss position greater than a year.