Note 7 - Investments In U.S. Treasury Notes And Bills And Marketable Securities

6 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

Investments in Debt and Marketable Equity Securities (and Certain Trading Assets) Disclosure [Text Block]

Note 7 - Investments in U.S. Treasury Notes and Bills and Marketable Securities

Investments in U.S. Treasury Bills and marketable securities categorized as “available-for-sale” are stated at fair value, with the unrealized gains and losses, net of taxes, reported in “Accumulated other comprehensive income”. As of March 31, 2012 and September 30, 2011, an unrealized gain of $52,520,000 (consisting of gross unrealized gains of $54,961,000 and gross unrealized losses of $2,441,000) and $24,532,000 (consisting of gross unrealized gains of $28,983,000 and gross unrealized losses of $4,451,000), respectively, net of taxes, was recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets. The Company uses quoted prices in active markets for identical assets (consistent with the Level 1 definition in the fair value hierarchy) to measure the fair value of its investments on a recurring basis pursuant to Accounting Standards Codification Topic 820.

	March 31, 2012						September 30, 2011
	(Unaudited)
	Aggregate fair value		Amortized cost basis		Pretax unrealized gains		Aggregate fair value		Amortized cost basis		Pretax unrealized gains
U.S. Treasury Bills	$	500,000	$	500,000	$	---	$	13,100,000	$	13,100,000	$	---
Marketable securities
Common stocks		89,998,000		40,236,000		49,762,000		48,393,000		26,655,000		21,738,000
Bonds		7,688,000		4,930,000		2,758,000		7,723,000		4,929,000		2,794,000
Total	$	98,186,000	$	45,666,000	$	52,520,000	$	69,216,000	$	44,684,000	$	24,532,000

At March 31, 2012, the U.S. Treasury Bills had maturity dates of less than one year, and the bonds mature in 2039.   All investments are classified as “Current assets” because they are available for sale at any time.

As of March 31, 2012, the Company performed separate evaluations for impaired equity securities to determine if the unrealized losses were other-than-temporary. This evaluation considers a number of factors including, but not limited to, the length of time and extent to which the fair value has been less than cost, the financial condition and near term prospects of the issuer and the Company’s ability and intent to hold the securities until fair value recovers. The assessment of the ability and intent to hold these securities to recovery focuses on liquidity needs, asset/liability management objectives and securities portfolio objectives. Based on the results of the evaluations, the Company concluded that as of March 31, 2012, the unrealized losses related to equity securities were temporary.