Investments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Investments

Investments

Note 8 — Investments

The amortized cost and fair value of securities are as follows:

	March 31, 2012
	Amortized Cost		Gross unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized losses		Fair Value
(amounts in thousands)
Trading securities:
ORBCOMM Inc. stock	$	2,123	$	361	$	─  ─	$	2,484
Securities held to maturity Certificates of deposit – various financial institutions		750	─		─			750
Total investments	$	2,873	$	361	$	─	$	3,234

The fair value determination of the Company’s trading securities disclosed above are based on the closing market price of the underlying equity securities as of March 31, 2012, a technique classified within Level 1 of the valuation hierarchy described in Note 9 below.  The Company’s held to maturity investments consist of certificates of deposit with maturity dates beyond three months.  The carrying amounts of the certificates of deposit were considered representative of their respective fair values.  The unrealized gain noted above was recorded as a component of Other income, net, within the Consolidated Statement of Operations.

The trading securities noted above include shares of ORBCOMM Inc. which were received as consideration for the sale of the Company’s LMS business.  Per the terms of the divestiture agreement, a portion of the shares were to be held in escrow to be used to settle future claims.  Per the terms of the escrow agreement, $600,000 may be released six-months from the transaction close date of January 12, 2012, while the remaining balance is to be released on April 15, 2013.