The Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has issued Statement No. 160, Noncontrolling Interests in Consolidated Financial Statements.  This Statement defines a noncontrolling interest as the portion of equity in a subsidiary not attributable, directly or indirectly, to the parent.  Statement 160 requires that:

1. The ownership interests in subsidiaries held by parties other than the parent be clearly identified, labeled, and presented in the consolidated statement of financial position within equity, but separate from the parent's equity.
   
   
2. The amount of consolidated net income attributable to the parent and to the noncontrolling interest be clearly identified and presented on the face of the consolidated statement of income.
   
   
3. Changes in a parent's ownership while the parent retains its controlling financial interest in its subsidiary must be accounted for as equity transactions.  This applies to changes if the parent purchases additional ownership interests in its subsidiary, sells some of its ownership interests in its subsidiary, or the subsidiary reacquires some of its ownership interests or the subsidiary issues additional ownership interests.
   
   
4. When a subsidiary is deconsolidated, any retained noncontrolling equity investment in the former subsidiary must be initially measured at fair value.  The gain or loss on the deconsolidation of the subsidiary is measured using the fair value of any noncontrolling equity investment rather than the carrying amount of that retained investment.
   
   
5. Entities must provide sufficient disclosures that clearly identify and distinguish between the interests of the parent and the interests of the noncontrolling owners.

The Statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2008 (calendar year 2009 and beyond).

Statement No, 160 is available at the FASB website at http://www.fasb.org/pdf/fas160.pdf.