Fair Value Measurements

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

Note 6 Fair Value Measurements

The following table sets forth, by level within the fair value hierarchy, our financial assets that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of September 30, 2012.  Our debt securities could transfer into or out of a Level 1 or 2 measure depending on the availability of independent and current pricing at the end of each quarter.  During the three months ended September 30, 2012, there were no transfers of our financial assets between Level 1 and Level 2 measures. Our financial assets are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Recurring Fair Value Measurements

	Fair Value as of September 30, 2012
	Level 1		Level 2		Level 3		Total
	(In thousands)
Assets:
Short-term investments:
Available-for-sale equity securities — energy industry	$	81,538	$	8,151	$	—	$	89,689
Available-for-sale debt securities
Commercial paper and CDs	180		—		—		180
Corporate debt securities	—		31,680		—		31,680
Mortgage-backed debt securities	—		246		—		246
Mortgage-CMO debt securities	—		1,078		—		1,078
Asset-backed debt securities	1,886		—		—		1,886
Trading securities — energy industry	23,242		—		—		23,242
Total short-term investments	$	106,846	$	41,155	$	—	$	148,001

Nonrecurring Fair Value Measurements

Fair value measurements were applied with respect to our nonfinancial assets and liabilities measured on a nonrecurring basis, which would primarily consist of goodwill, intangible assets and other long-lived assets, assets acquired and liabilities assumed in a business combination, and asset retirement obligations.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value of our financial instruments has been estimated in accordance with GAAP.  We measure the estimated fair value of our long-term debt, subsidiary preferred stock and revolving credit facilities using significant other observable inputs, which represent Level 2 fair value measurements, including quoted market prices or prices quoted from third-party financial institutions as well as the terms and credit spreads for such instruments. The carrying and fair values of these liabilities were as follows:

	September 30, 2012				December 31, 2011
	Carrying Value		Fair Value		Carrying Value		Fair Value
	(In thousands)
5.375% senior notes due August 2012	$	—	$	—	$	274,604	$	281,188
6.15% senior notes due February 2018	968,403		1,155,180		967,490		1,113,986
9.25% senior notes due January 2019	1,125,000		1,470,139		1,125,000		1,419,514
5.00% senior notes due September 2020	697,572		769,146		697,343		734,475
4.625% senior notes due September 2021	697,847		726,285		697,667		708,176
Subsidiary preferred stock	69,188		68,625		69,188		68,625
Revolving credit facilities	1,190,000		1,190,000		860,000		860,000
Other	463		463		1,712		1,712
	$	4,748,473	$	5,379,838	$	4,693,004	$	5,187,676

The fair values of our cash equivalents, trade receivables and trade payables approximate their carrying values due to the short-term nature of these instruments.

As of September 30, 2012, our short-term investments were carried at fair market value and included $124.8 million and $23.2 million in securities classified as available-for-sale and trading, respectively.  As of December 31, 2011, our short-term investments were carried at fair market value and included $129.3 million and $11.6 million in securities classified as available-for-sale and trading, respectively.