Income taxes	9 Months Ended
Jul. 31, 2013
Income taxes [Abstract]
Income taxes	6. Income taxes The Company assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to use the existing deferred tax assets. A significant piece of objective negative evidence was the cumulative loss incurred over the four-year period ended October 31, 2012 and over a seven-year period ended October 31, 2012. However, when these losses are adjusted for certain aberrations, rather than continuing conditions, the Company is able to represent that cumulative losses are not present in either the four year look back period or the seven year look back period. The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. The Company considers a multitude of factors in assessing the utilization of its deferred tax assets including the reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and other assessments, which may have an impact on financial results. The Company determined in the second quarter of 2012 that, primarily as a result of its inability to enter into an amended credit facility upon the expiration of the Limited Forbearance Agreement on April 30, 2012, as well as the potential for a substantial increase in interest rates and fees coupled with the uncertainty regarding future interest rate increases that the secured lenders may impose on the Company that a full valuation allowance of the Company's deferred tax assets, net of deferred tax liabilities, is necessary to measure the portion of the deferred tax asset that more likely than not will not be realized. As a result of the Restated Credit Agreement entered into on October 19, 2012, the Company reassessed its valuation allowance and determined that due to the relative short term maturity of the Restated Credit Agreement, coupled with the increase in interest rates, a full valuation was warranted at July 31, 2013 and October 31, 2012. The subsequent default under the Restated Credit Agreement and entry into the associated May 2013 Forbearance Agreement and the short term nature of the May 2013 Forbearance Agreement was not deemed to be of a sufficient time period to warrant a modification regarding the full valuation allowance. The Company currently intends to maintain a full valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets until sufficient positive evidence related to our sources of future taxable income exists and the Company is better able to identify a longer term solution to our current credit situation with our secured lenders. Therefore, the amount of deferred tax asset considered realizable could be adjusted in future periods based on a multitude of factors, including but not limited to a refinancing of the Company’s existing credit agreement with its secured lenders, and such adjustments may be material to the Consolidated Financial Statements. The Company’s effective tax benefit from continuing operations for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2013 was 9.8% and 1.8 % compared to an effective tax rate of 0.0% and a negative (543.4)% for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2012. The primary difference in tax rates between 2013 and 2012 and for 2012 between the effective tax rate and the statutory tax rate is a result of the valuation allowance taken against our deferred tax assets in the second quarter of 2012 in the amount of $15.2 million. The income tax expense for 2012 was reflective of current period deferred tax benefit. The third quarter 2012 tax rate is zero due to full year losses in each component (continuing operations and discontinued operations) and the total year income tax provision of zero excluding the impact of valuation allowances, net of deferred tax benefit recorded in the second quarter of 2012 to continuing operations in accordance with intraperiod tax allocation standards. The 2013 tax rate was impacted by a tax benefit from continuing operations resulting from interim implications of intraperiod tax allocations for discontinued operations when there is a loss from continuing operations to maintain financial statement neutrality and to recognize the tax components between continuing operations and discontinued operations on a discrete basis. The Company intends to maintain a full valuation allowance for deferred tax assets as further described herein. The effective income tax rate approximates the combined federal and state, net of federal benefit, statutory income tax rate and may be impacted by increases or decreases in the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets.

6. Income taxes

The Company assesses the available positive and negative evidence to estimate if sufficient future taxable income will be generated to use the existing deferred tax assets. A significant piece of objective negative evidence was the cumulative loss incurred over the four-year period ended October 31, 2012 and over a seven-year period ended October 31, 2012. However, when these losses are adjusted for certain aberrations, rather than continuing conditions, the Company is able to represent that cumulative losses are not present in either the four year look back period or the seven year look back period.

The ultimate realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon the generation of future taxable income during the periods in which those temporary differences become deductible. The Company considers a multitude of factors in assessing the utilization of its deferred tax assets including the reversal of deferred tax liabilities, projected future taxable income and other assessments, which may have an impact on financial results. The Company determined in the second quarter of 2012 that, primarily as a result of its inability to enter into an amended credit facility upon the expiration of the Limited Forbearance Agreement on April 30, 2012, as well as the potential for a substantial increase in interest rates and fees coupled with the uncertainty regarding future interest rate increases that the secured lenders may impose on the Company that a full valuation allowance of the Company's deferred tax assets, net of deferred tax liabilities, is necessary to measure the portion of the deferred tax asset that more likely than not will not be realized. As a result of the Restated Credit Agreement entered into on October 19, 2012, the Company reassessed its valuation allowance and determined that due to the relative short term maturity of the Restated Credit Agreement, coupled with the increase in interest rates, a full valuation was warranted at July 31, 2013 and October 31, 2012. The subsequent default under the Restated Credit Agreement and entry into the associated May 2013 Forbearance Agreement and the short term nature of the May 2013 Forbearance Agreement was not deemed to be of a sufficient time period to warrant a modification regarding the full valuation allowance. The Company currently intends to maintain a full valuation allowance on our deferred tax assets until sufficient positive evidence related to our sources of future taxable income exists and the Company is better able to identify a longer term solution to our current credit situation with our secured lenders. Therefore, the amount of deferred tax asset considered realizable could be adjusted in future periods based on a multitude of factors, including but not limited to a refinancing of the Company’s existing credit agreement with its secured lenders, and such adjustments may be material to the Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company’s effective tax benefit from continuing operations for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2013 was 9.8% and 1.8 % compared to an effective tax rate of 0.0% and a negative (543.4)% for the three and nine months ended July 31, 2012. The primary difference in tax rates between 2013 and 2012 and for 2012 between the effective tax rate and the statutory tax rate is a result of the valuation allowance taken against our deferred tax assets in the second quarter of 2012 in the amount of $15.2 million. The income tax expense for 2012 was reflective of current period deferred tax benefit. The third quarter 2012 tax rate is zero due to full year losses in each component (continuing operations and discontinued operations) and the total year income tax provision of zero excluding the impact of valuation allowances, net of deferred tax benefit recorded in the second quarter of 2012 to continuing operations in accordance with intraperiod tax allocation standards. The 2013 tax rate was impacted by a tax benefit from continuing operations resulting from interim implications of intraperiod tax allocations for discontinued operations when there is a loss from continuing operations to maintain financial statement neutrality and to recognize the tax components between continuing operations and discontinued operations on a discrete basis. The Company intends to maintain a full valuation allowance for deferred tax assets as further described herein. The effective income tax rate approximates the combined federal and state, net of federal benefit, statutory income tax rate and may be impacted by increases or decreases in the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets.