DERIVATIVES AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES (Block)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure Abstract

Derivative Instruments And Hedging Activities Disclosure Text Block

8. DERIVATIVES AND HEDGING ACTIVITIES

The Company from time to time enters into derivative financial instruments, including interest rate exchange agreements (“Swaps”) and interest rate collar agreements (“Collars”), to manage its exposure to fluctuations in interest rates.

Hedge Accounting Treatment

During the period of an interest rate hedging relationship, the Company's variable rate debt is expected to be greater than the notional amount of the derivative rate hedging transactions. These transactions are tied to the one-month Eurodollar London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) interest rate. Under a fixed rate swap, the Company pays a fixed rate on a notional amount to the counter-party, and the counter-party pays to the Company a variable rate on the notional amount equal to the Company's LIBOR borrowing rate. A Collar establishes two separate agreements: an upper limit, or cap, and a lower limit, or floor, for the Company's LIBOR borrowing rate.

As of September 30, 2011 and 2010, the Company had outstandingthe aggregate notional amounts of $100.0 million and $475.0million, respectively, of interest rate transactions that were hedged against the Company's variable rate senior debt.

As of September 30, 2011, the Company had the following derivative outstanding:

Type				Fixed
Of	Notional		Effective	LIBOR	Expiration
Hedge	Amount		Date	Rate	Date
	(amounts
	(in millions)
Swap	$	100.0	May 28, 2008	3.62%	May 28, 2012

The following tables include those derivatives that expired during the periods indicated:

Nine Months Ended September 30, 2011
Type						Fixed
Of	Notional		Effective			LIBOR		Expiration
Hedge	Amount		Date		Collar	Rate		Date
	(amounts
	(in millions)
Swap	$	150.0	January 28, 2008		n/a	3.03%		January 28, 2011
Collar		100.0	February 28, 2008	[	Cap	4.00%	]	February 28, 2011
					Floor	2.14%
Swap	0	125.0	March 28, 2008		n/a	2.91%		September 28, 2011
		375.0
Nine Months Ended September 30, 2010
Type						Fixed
Of	Notional		Effective			LIBOR		Expiration
Hedge	Amount		Date		Collar	Rate		Date
	(amounts
	(in millions)
Swap	$	75.0	January 28, 2008		n/a	3.03%		January 28, 2010

The following is a summary of the gains (losses) related to the Company's cash flow hedges for the periods indicated:

	Nine Months Ended
	September 30,
Description	2011		2010
	(amounts in thousands)
Type Of Derivative Designated As A Cash Flow Hedge	Interest Rate		Interest Rate
Amount Of Gain (Loss) Recognized In Other
Comprehensive Income (Loss) ("OCI")	$	5,129	$	3,159
Location Of Gain (Loss) Reclassified From OCI To
Statement Of Operations	Interest Expense		Interest Expense
Amount Of Gain (Loss) Reclassified From OCI To
Statement Of Operations	$	-	$	-
Location Of Gain (Loss) In Statement Of Operations	Interest Expense		Interest Expense
Amount Of Gain (Loss) In Statement Of Operations
Due To Ineffectiveness	$	-	$	-

	Three Months Ended
	September 30,
Description	2011			2010
	(amounts in thousands)
Type Of Derivative Designated As A Cash Flow Hedge	Interest Rate		Interest Rate
Amount Of Gain (Loss) Recognized In Other
Comprehensive Income (Loss) ("OCI")	$	1,679	$	1,424
Location Of Gain (Loss) Reclassified From OCI To
Statement Of Operations	Interest Expense		Interest Expense
Amount Of Gain (Loss) Reclassified From OCI To
Statement Of Operations	$	-	$	-
Location Of Gain (Loss) In Statement Of Operations	Interest Expense		Interest Expense
Amount Of Gain (Loss) In Statement Of Operations
Due To Ineffectiveness	$	-	$	-

The gains and losses were recorded to the statement of comprehensive income (loss) as these derivatives qualified for hedge accounting treatment (see Note 14 for the net change in the fair value). The fair value of these derivatives was determined using observable market-based inputs (a Level 2 measurement as described under Note 17) and the impact of the credit risk on a derivative's fair value (the creditworthiness of the transaction's counterparty for assets and the creditworthiness of the Company for liabilities).

The Company does not expect to reclassify any portion of this amount to the statement of operations over the earlier of the expiration of the derivative or the next twelve months.

       The following table presents the accumulated derivative gain (loss) recorded in the statements of other comprehensive income (loss) as of the periods indicated:

	Fair Value Of Accumulated
	Derivatives Outstanding
	September 30,		December 31,
	2011		2010
	Assets (Liabilities)
	(amounts in thousands)
Beginning balance as of January 1	$	(7,277)	$	(13,432)
Net unrealized gain (loss) on derivatives,
net of taxes (benefit)		9,174		6,155
Ending balance	$	1,897	$	(7,277)

The following is a summary of the fair value of the derivatives outstanding as of the periods indicated:

		Fair Value
		September 30,		December 31,
	Balance Sheet	2011		2010
	Location	Asset (Liability)
		(amounts in thousands)
Designated Derivatives
Interest rate hedge transactions	Current liabilities	$	(2,148)	$	(2,958)
Interest rate hedge transactions	Other long-term liabilities	$	-	$	(4,319)