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Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Fair Value Measurement Disclosure [Abstract]

NOTE F – Fair Value Measurements

On September 7, 2011, the Company purchased 10 million shares of the common stock of Eris Technology Corporation (“Eris”), a publicly traded company listed as an Emerging Stock on the Taiwan OTC Exchange (TWO) that provides design, manufacturing and after-market services for diode products. The Company paid NT$39 per share or NT$390 million (approximately US$14 million), which represents an approximately 30 percent ownership in Eris after the transaction. As of September 30, 2011, the Company holds 10,045,000 shares of Eris.

The accounting rules permit a company to choose, at specified election dates, to measure at fair value certain eligible financial assets and liabilities that are not currently required to be measured at fair value. The specified election dates include, but are not limited to, the date when an entity first recognizes the item, when an entity enters into a firm commitment or when changes in the financial instrument causes it to no longer qualify for fair value accounting under a different accounting standard. The fair value option may be elected for each entire financial instrument, but need not be applied to all similar instruments. Once the fair value option has been elected, it is irrevocable. Unrealized gains and losses on items for which the fair value option has been elected will be reported in other income (expense).

The Company has elected the fair value option for the shares of Eris common stock. Fair value is the price that would be received on the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. The shares of Eris common stock will be valued under the fair value hierarchy as a Level 1 Input, which is the quoted price (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date.

Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value as of September 30, 2011 are classified in the following table (in thousands):

			Fair Value Measurements						Changes in Fair Values for Items Measured at Fair Value Pursuant to Election of the Fair Value Option

Description		Fair Value Estimate		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)		Other Gains and (Losses)		Total Changes in Fair Values Included in Current-Period Earnings

Securities carried at fair value *	$	12,148	$	12,148	$	-	$	-	$	(1,334)	$	(1,334)

(*) Represents investments that would otherwise be accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

- Definition

This item represents the complete disclosure regarding the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments, assets, and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the Company is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risk is are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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