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Interest Rate Swaps
 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Interest Rate Derivatives [Abstract]  
Interest Rate Swaps
Interest Rate Swaps
The Company has entered into interest rate swaps only to manage and reduce its interest rate risk, including the use of (1) forward-starting interest rate swaps to hedge its exposure to variability in future cash flows attributable to changes in LIBOR on anticipated financings, including refinancings and potential future borrowings and (2) interest rate swaps to hedge the interest rate variability on a portion of the Company's floating rate debt. The Company does not enter into interest rate swaps for speculative or trading purposes.
During the years ended December 31, 2006 and 2007, the Company entered into an aggregate $5.3 billion notional value of forward-starting interest rate swaps hedging certain anticipated refinancings, all of which were settled during the years ended December 31, 2010 and 2009. The forward-starting interest rate swaps fixed LIBOR for five years relating to the anticipated refinancings at a weighted-average rate of 5.2%, while the actual five-year LIBOR swap rate upon issuance of the anticipated refinancings was a weighted-average of 2.4%. In certain circumstances, these forward-starting interest rate swaps were outstanding following the refinancing of the respective debt which they hedged. Refinancings that qualified as the respective hedged forecasted transaction resulted in $3.9 million of ineffectiveness for the year ended December 31, 2009, and the interest rate swaps were no longer economic hedges of the Company's exposure to LIBOR on the anticipated refinancing of its existing debt. As a result, changes in the fair value of such non-economic swaps were prospectively recorded in earnings until settlement in "net gain (loss) on interest rate swaps" on the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss). For refinancings that did not qualify as the respective hedged forecasted transaction, the Company discontinued hedge accounting and reclassified the entire loss from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) to earnings. During 2010, the Company paid $697.8 million to settle its previously outstanding forward-starting interest rate swaps. As of December 31, 2011, all of the interest rate swaps have been settled.
The following table shows the effect of interest rate swaps on the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive income (loss). The estimated net amount, pre-tax, loss that is expected to be reclassified into earnings from accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) is approximately $65 million for the year ended December 31, 2012. See also note 8. 

Interest Rate Swaps Designated as
Hedging Instruments(a)
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
Classification
 
2011
 
2010
 
2009
 
Gain (loss) recognized in other comprehensive income ("OCI") (effective portion)
 
$
(973
)
  
$
(125,850
)
  
$
140,056

 
OCI
Gain (loss) reclassified from accumulated OCI into income (effective portion)
 
(71,707
)
 
(54,169
)
 
(19,158
)
 
Interest expense and amortization of deferred financing costs
Amount of gain (loss) recognized in income (ineffective portion and excluded from effectiveness testing)
 
—

 
—

 
(3,920
)
 
Net gain (loss) on interest rate swaps
Interest Rate Swaps Not Designated as
Hedging Instruments(a)
 
Years Ended December 31,
 
Classification
 
2011
 
2010
 
2009
 
Gain (loss) recognized in income
 
$
—

 
$
(286,435
)
(b)
$
(89,046
)
(c)
Net gain (loss) on interest rate swaps
____________________
(a)
Exclusive of benefit (provision) for income taxes.
(b)
Inclusive of $3.4 million related to the discontinuation of amortization into interest expense of an interest rate swap that previously qualified for hedge accounting as a result of early repayment of debt in 2010 and the remainder is related to losses due to the decrease in fair value of interest rate swaps not designated as hedging instruments.
(c)
Inclusive of losses of $132.9 million related to the hedged forecasted transaction not occurring with respect to the refinancing of 2006 Mortgage Loan, partially offset by gains related to the increase in the fair value of interest rate swaps not designated as hedging instruments.