Fair Value of Financial Instruments

12 Months Ended

Dec. 29, 2013

Fair Value of Financial Instruments [Abstract]

(12) Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company measures certain assets at fair value in accordance with current accounting standards. The fair value hierarchy consists of three levels: Level 1 fair values are valuations based on quoted market prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the entity has the ability to access; Level 2 fair values are those valuations based on 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 data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities; and Level 3 fair values are valuations based on inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities. There have been no transfers between levels within the fair value hierarchy.

Current accounting standards permit entities to choose to measure many financial instruments and certain other items at fair value and establish presentation and disclosure requirements designed to facilitate comparisons between entities that choose different measurement attributes for similar assets and liabilities. The Company has elected the fair value option for certain investments. At December 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, these investments totaled $28,048 and $24,091, respectively, and are included in prepaid expenses and other current assets in the consolidated balance sheets. The Company recorded net gains of $152, $2,504 and $61 on these investments in other (income) expense, net for the years ended December 29, 2013, December 30, 2012 and December 25, 2011, respectively, relating to the change in fair value of such investments.

At December 29, 2013 and December 30, 2012, the Company had the following assets and liabilities measured at fair value in its consolidated balance sheets:

			Fair Value Measurements Using
	Fair Value		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)

December 29, 2013
Assets:
Available-for-sale securities	$	28,048		-		22,564		5,484
Derivatives		4,627		-		4,627		-
Total assets	$	32,675		-		27,191		5,484

Liabilities:
Derivatives	$	12,330		-		12,330		-

December 30, 2012
Assets:
Available-for-sale securities	$	24,099		8		18,986		5,105
Derivatives		4,254		-		1,741		2,513
Total assets	$	28,353		8		20,727		7,618

Liabilities:
Derivatives	$	3,461		-		3,461		-

Certain available-for-sale securities held by the Company are valued at the net asset value which is quoted on a private market that is not active; however, the unit price is predominantly based on underlying investments which are traded on an active market. Investments valued at net asset value are redeemable within 45 days. In 2012 the Company purchased an available-for-sale investment which invests in hedge funds which contain financial instruments that are valued using certain estimates which are considered unobservable in that they reflect the investment manager's own assumptions about the inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The Company believes that these estimates are the best information available for use in the fair value of this investment. The Company's derivatives consist primarily of foreign currency forward and forward-starting interest rate contracts. The Company uses current forward rates of the respective foreign currencies and U.S. treasury interest rates to measure the fair value of these contracts. At December 30, 2012, derivative instruments also included warrants to purchase common stock of an unrelated company. The Company used the Black-Scholes model to value these warrants. One of the inputs used in the Black-Scholes model, historical volatility, is considered an unobservable input in that it reflects the Company's own assumptions about the inputs that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The Company believed that this was the best information available for use in the fair value measurement. There were no changes in these valuation techniques during 2013.

The following is a reconciliation of the beginning and ending balances of the fair value measurements of the Company's financial instruments which use significant unobservable inputs (Level 3):

	2013			2012
Balance at beginning of year	$	7,618			3,724
Purchases		-			5,000
Sales		(990	)		-
Loss from change in fair value		(1,144	)		(1,106	)
Balance at end of year	$	5,484			7,618

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial 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 entity 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 risks 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.

+ References+ Details