Fair Values Of Financial Instruments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Fair Values Of Financial Instruments [Abstract]

Fair Values Of Financial Instruments

3. Fair Values of Financial Instruments

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset and liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. U.S. GAAP establishes a three-tier value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in the valuation methodologies in measuring fair value:

Level Input:	Input Definition:
Level 1	Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in active markets at the measurement date.
Level 2	Inputs other than quoted prices included in Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability through corroboration with market data at the measurement date.
Level 3	Unobservable inputs that reflect management's best estimate of what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date.

The fair value hierarchy requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value.

The following tables summarize fair value measurements by level at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 for assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis (in thousands):

	Fair Value Measurements as of September 30, 2011 Using
Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	19,545	$	—	$	—	$	19,545
Investments		—		26,616		933		27,549
Total	$	19,545	$	26,616	$	933	$	47,094

	Fair Value Measurements as of December 31, 2010 Using
Description	Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Total
Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$	19,350	$	—	$	—	$	19,350
Investments		891		31,056		951		32,898
Total	$	20,241	$	31,056	$	951	$	52,248

Cash and cash equivalents are comprised of either bank deposits or amounts invested in money market funds, the fair value of which is based on quoted market prices. Our debt securities are classified at fair value utilizing Level 2 inputs. For these securities, fair value is measured using observable market data that includes dealer quotes, live trading levels, trade execution data, credit information and the bond's terms and conditions. The fair values of our auction rate instruments are classified in Level 3 because they are valued using a trinomial discount model as there is insufficient observable auction rate market information available to determine the fair value of these investments. The determination of the fair value of the auction rate instruments employs assumptions including financial standing of the issuer of the instruments, final stated maturities, estimates of the probability of the issue being called prior to final maturity, estimates of the probability of defaults and recoveries, expected changes in interest rates paid on the securities, interest rates paid on similar instruments, and an estimated illiquidity discount due to extended redemption periods.

The following table presents the changes in Level 3 instruments for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):

	For the Three Months Ended September 30,					For the Nine Months Ended September 30,
	2011			2010		2011			2010
Balance at beginning of period	$	954		$	1,981	$	951		$	2,090
Assets sold		(21	)		—		(21	)		(22	)
Transfers out of Level 3		—			—		—			(100	)
Gains included in other comprehensive loss		—			8		3			21
Balance as of September 30	$	933		$	1,989	$	933		$	1,989