Financial Instruments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Financial Instruments [Abstract]

Financial Instruments

Note 8 – Financial instruments:

The following table presents the financial instruments that are not carried at fair value but which require fair value disclosure:

	December 31, 2010				September 30, 2011
	Carrying amount		Fair value		Carrying amount		Fair value
	(In thousands)
Cash and cash equivalents	$	13,919	$	13,919	$	8,533	$	8,533
Accounts receivable, net		14,601		14,601		16,625		16,625
Promissory note receivable		15,000		15,000		15,000		15,000
Accounts payable		4,890		4,890		4,409		4,409
Long-term debt (including current maturities)		45,230		45,230		42,322		42,322

Due to their near-term maturities, the carrying amounts of accounts receivable and accounts payable are considered equivalent to fair value. The fair values of our variable-rate promissory note receivable and long-term debt are deemed to approximate book value. The fair values of our promissory note receivable and long-term debt are Level 2 inputs as defined by ASC Topic 820-10-35.

We periodically use currency forward contracts to manage a portion of currency exchange rate market risk associated with receivables, or similar exchange rate risk associated with future sales, denominated in a currency other than the holder's functional currency. We have not entered into these contracts for trading or speculative purposes in the past, nor do we anticipate entering into such contracts for trading or speculative purposes in the future. Most of our currency forward contracts meet the criteria for hedge accounting under GAAP and are designated as cash flow hedges. For these currency forward contracts, gains and losses representing the effective portion of our hedges are deferred as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income, and are subsequently recognized in earnings at the time the hedged item affects earnings. Occasionally, we enter into currency forward contracts which do not meet the criteria for hedge accounting. For these contracts, we mark-to-market the estimated fair value of the contracts at each balance sheet date based on quoted market prices for the forward contracts, with any resulting gain or loss recognized in income currently as part of net currency transactions. The quoted market prices for the forward contracts are a Level 1 input as defined by ASC Topic 820-10-35.

At September 30, 2011, we held a series of contracts to exchange an aggregate of U.S. $22.4 million for an equivalent value of Canadian dollars at exchange rates ranging from Cdn. $1.03 to Cdn. $0.99 per U.S. dollar. These contracts qualified for hedge accounting and mature through December 2012. The exchange rate was $1.03 per U.S. dollar at September 30, 2011. The estimated fair value of the contracts was a liability of approximately $713,000 at September 30, 2011. We had no currency forward contracts outstanding at December 31, 2010.