FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

3 Months Ended

Mar. 30, 2013

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

NOTE 4 — FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENT

Generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) define fair value 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 or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date.  GAAP also establishes a fair value hierarchy which requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value.  The standard describes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1: Quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets that the entity has the ability to access as of the measurement date.

Level 2: Significant other observable inputs (other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities); quoted prices in markets that are not active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3: Significant unobservable inputs that reflect a company’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.

The Company used the following methods and significant assumptions to estimate the fair value of items:

Investments:  The fair values of investments available-for-sale are determined by obtaining quoted prices on nationally recognized securities exchanges (Level 1 inputs).

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and trade accounts payable approximated fair value as of March 30, 2013, and December 29, 2012, because of the relatively short maturities of these financial instruments.  The carrying amount of long-term debt, including current maturities, approximated fair value as of March 30, 2013, and December 29, 2012, based upon terms and conditions available to the Company at those dates in comparison to the terms and conditions of its outstanding long-term debt.