DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2012

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Text Block]

1. DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Business

          TheStreet, Inc., together with its wholly owned subsidiaries (“TheStreet”, “we”, “us” or the “Company”), is a leading digital financial media company whose collection of digital services provides users, subscribers and advertisers with a variety of content and tools through a range of online, social media, tablet and mobile channels. Our mission is to provide actionable ideas from the world of investing, finance and business in order to break down information barriers, level the playing field and help all individuals and organizations grow their wealth. With a robust suite of digital services, TheStreet offers the tools and insights needed to make informed decisions about earning, investing, saving and spending money.

          Since its inception in 1996, TheStreet believes it has distinguished itself from other financial media companies with its journalistic excellence, unbiased approach and interactive multimedia coverage of the financial markets, economy, industry trends, investment and financial planning.

Basis of Presentation

          The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and for quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The financial statements require the use of management estimates and include the accounts of the Company as required by GAAP. Operating results for the six month period ended June 30, 2012 is not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2012.

          The consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2011 has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date, but does not include all of the information and notes required by GAAP for complete financial statements.

          For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 7, 2012 (“2011 Form 10-K”).

          During 2011 and the three months ended March 31, 2012, the Company accrued quarterly expenses related to its full year cash incentive compensation on a straight-line basis based on the Company’s estimate of expected full year cash incentive compensation. Beginning with the three months ended June 30, 2012, the Company accrued expenses based upon achievement of periodic performance objectives and full year expectations.

          The Company has evaluated subsequent events for recognition or disclosure.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

          In May 2011, the FASB issued FASB ASU No. 2011-04, Amendments to Achieve Common Fair Value Measurement and Disclosure Requirements in U.S. GAAP and IFRSs (“ASU 2011-04”). ASU 2011-04 provides new guidance for fair value measurements intended to achieve common fair value measurement and disclosure requirements in U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The amended guidance provides a consistent definition of fair value to ensure that the fair value measurement and disclosure requirements are similar between U.S. GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards. The amended guidance changes certain fair value measurement principles and enhances the disclosure requirements, particularly for Level 3 fair value measurements. The amended guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011. Early adoption was not permitted. The Company conformed to the new presentation required in ASU 2011-04 beginning with Form 10-Q for the three months ended March 31, 2012.

          In June 2011, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income (“ASU 2011-05”), to require an entity to present the total of comprehensive income, the components of net income, and the components of other comprehensive income either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. ASU 2011-05 eliminates the option to present the components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of equity. The standard does not change the items which must be reported in other comprehensive income, how such items are measured or when they must be reclassified to net income. This standard is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2011 and is to be applied retrospectively. The FASB has deferred the requirement to present reclassification adjustments for each component of accumulated other comprehensive income in both net income and other comprehensive income. Companies are required to either present amounts reclassified out of other comprehensive income on the face of the financial statements or disclose those amounts in the notes to the financial statements. During the deferral period, there is no requirement to separately present or disclose the reclassification adjustments into net income. The effective date of this deferral will be consistent with the effective date of the ASU 2011-05. The Company adopted ASU 2011-05 in the first quarter of 2012 and disclosed comprehensive income in its unaudited consolidated statement of comprehensive income and note that this guidance affects financial statement presentation only and has no impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

          In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-08, Testing for Goodwill Impairment (“ASU 2011-08”). ASU 2011-08 permits an entity to make a qualitative assessment of whether it is more likely than not that a reporting unit’s fair value is less than its carrying amount before applying the two-step goodwill impairment test. If an entity concludes it is not more likely than not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, it need not perform the two-step impairment test. ASU 2011-08 is effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 31, 2011. Early adoption was permitted. The implementation of ASU 2011-08 did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.