Marriott International, Inc. 2009 Annual Report
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Financial Review

Risk Factors
MD&A
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
Financial Statments
Notes to Financial Statements
Shareholder Return Performance Graph -- Unaudited
Quarterly Financial Data
Selected Historical Financial Data
Non-GAAP Financial Measure Reconciliation
Management's Reports
Reports of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk  > 

Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are exposed to market risk from changes in interest rates, foreign exchange rates, and debt and equity prices. We manage our exposure to these risks by monitoring available financing alternatives, through development and application of credit granting policies and by entering into derivative arrangements. We do not foresee any significant changes in either our exposure to fluctuations in interest rates or foreign exchange rates or how such exposure is managed in the future.

We are exposed to interest rate risk on our floating-rate notes receivable, our residual interests retained in connection with the sale of Timeshare segment notes receivable and the fair value of our fixed-rate notes receivable. Changes in interest rates also impact our floating-rate long-term debt and the fair value of our fixed-rate long-term debt.

We are also subject to risk from changes in debt and equity prices from our investments in debt securities. We account for our investment as available-for-sale securities under the guidance for accounting for certain investments in debt and equity securities. At year-end 2009, our investment had a fair value of $18 million.

We use derivative instruments, including cash flow hedges, net investment in foreign operations hedges, fair value hedges, and other derivative instruments, as part of our overall strategy to manage our exposure to market risks associated with fluctuations in interest rates and foreign currency exchange rates. As a matter of policy, we only enter into transactions that we believe will be highly effective at offsetting the underlying risk, and we do not use derivatives for trading or speculative purposes. At year-end 2009, our consolidated balance sheet included a $3 million asset and a $1 million liability for foreign exchange forwards, a $3 million liability related to a fair value interest rate swap and a $1 million liability for interest rate swaps not designated as hedging instruments. Please see Footnote No. 17, "Derivative Instruments" for additional information, including the risks associated with our derivative instruments, their impact on our consolidated financial statements, the notional amounts, and their maturity dates.

The following table sets forth the scheduled maturities and the total fair value as of year-end 2009 for our financial instruments that are impacted by market risks:

 

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