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our post-retirement benefit plans qualify as actuarially equivalent to the benefit provided under the MPDIM Act, for which it expects to receive
federal subsidies. We expect that other portions of the plans will not be actuarially equivalent. The financial impact of the federal subsidies was
determined by remeasuring our retiree life and medical obligation as of January 1, 2004, as provided under the retroactive application provision
of FSP FAS 106-2. The effective date of FSP FAS 106-2 is the first annual or interim period beginning after June 15, 2004, with earlier
adoption encouraged. We adopted FSP FAS 106-2 for the three-month period ended June 30, 2004. As a result of adoption, the accrued post-
retirement benefit obligation decreased by $31. Net periodic post-retirement benefit costs are expected to decrease by $2 for 2004, as a result of
the subsidy.
In March 2004, the Emerging Issues Task Force, or EITF reached consensus on Issue No. 03-1, “The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary
Impairment and Its Application to Certain Investments”, or EITF 03-1. EITF 03-1 provides guidance on determining when an investment is
considered impaired, whether that impairment is other than temporary and the measurement of an impairment loss. EITF 03-1 is applicable to
marketable debt and equity securities within the scope of SFAS No. 115, “Accounting for Certain Investments in Debt and Equity Securities”,
or SFAS 115, and SFAS No. 124, “Accounting for Certain Investments Held by Not-for-Profit Organizations”, and equity securities that are
not subject to the scope of SFAS 115 and not accounted for under the equity method of accounting. In September 2004, the FASB issued FSP
EITF 03-1-1, “Effective Date of Paragraphs 10-20 of EITF Issue No. 03-1, ‘The Meaning of Other-Than-Temporary Impairment and Its
Application to Certain Investments’”, which delays the effective date for the measurement and recognition criteria contained in EITF 03-1 until
final application guidance is issued. The delay does not suspend the requirement to recognize other-than-temporary impairments as required by
existing authoritative literature. The adoption of EITF 03-1 is not expected to have a material impact on our results of operations and financial
position.
On September 30, 2004, the EITF reached a consensus on Issue No. 04-8, “The Effect of Contingently Convertible Debt on Diluted Earnings
Per Share”, or EITF 04-8, which addresses when the dilutive effect of contingently convertible debt instruments should be included in diluted
earnings (loss) per share. EITF 04-8 requires that contingently convertible debt instruments be included in the computation of diluted earnings
(loss) per share regardless of whether the market price trigger has been met. EITF 04-8 also requires that prior period diluted earnings
(loss) per share amounts presented for comparative purposes be restated. EITF 04-8 is effective for reporting periods ending after
December 15, 2004. The adoption of EITF 04-8 is not expected to have an impact on our diluted earnings (loss) per share.
Market risk
Market risk represents the risk of loss that may impact our consolidated financial statements through adverse changes in financial market prices
and rates. Our market risk exposure results primarily from fluctuations in interest rates and foreign exchange rates. To manage the risk from
these fluctuations, we enter into various derivative-hedging transactions that we have authorized under our policies and procedures. We
maintain risk management control systems to monitor market risks and counterparty risks. These systems rely on analytical techniques
including both sensitivity analysis and value-at-risk estimations. We do not hold or issue financial instruments for trading purposes.
For a discussion of our accounting policies for derivative financial instruments, see “Significant accounting policies” in note 2(t) and
“Accounting changes” in note 4(e), (g), and (m) of the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Additional disclosure of our financial
instruments is included in “Financial instruments and hedging activities” in note 12 of the accompanying consolidated financial statements.
We manage foreign exchange exposures using forward and option contracts to hedge sale and purchase commitments. Our most significant
foreign exchange exposures are in the Canadian dollar, the British pound and the euro. We enter into U.S. to Canadian dollar forward and
option contracts intended to hedge the U.S. to Canadian dollar exposure on future revenues and expenditure streams. In accordance with SFAS
No. 133, we recognize the gains and losses on the effective portion of these contracts in income when the hedged transaction occurs. Any
ineffective portion of these contracts is recognized in income immediately.
We expect to continue to expand our business globally and, as such, expect that an increasing proportion of our business may be denominated
in currencies other than U.S. dollars. As a result, fluctuations in foreign currencies may have a material impact on our business, results of
operations and financial condition. We try to minimize the impact of such currency fluctuations through our ongoing commercial practices and
by attempting to hedge our major currency exposures. In attempting to manage this foreign exchange risk, we identify operations and
transactions that may have exposure based upon the excess or deficiency of foreign currency receipts over foreign currency expenditures. Our
significant currency flows for the year ended December 31, 2003 were in U.S. dollars, Canadian dollars, British pounds and euros. The net
impact of foreign exchange fluctuations resulted in a gain of $105 in 2003, a loss of $65 in 2002 and a loss of $152 in 2001. Given our
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