4. INVESTMENTS IN MARKETABLE SECURITIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Marketable Securities [Text Block]

4. INVESTMENTS IN MARKETABLE SECURITIES

Investments in marketable securities consist primarily of large capital corporate equity and debt securities in varying industries or issued by government agencies with readily determinable fair values (see table below). These securities are stated at market value, as determined by the most recently traded price of each security at the balance sheet date. Consistent with the Company’s overall current investment objectives and activities its entire marketable securities portfolio is classified as trading. Accordingly all unrealized gains and losses on this portfolio are recorded in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income. For the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 net unrealized (loss) gain on trading securities were approximately ($189,000) and ($86,000), respectively.

	December 31, 2011							December 31, 2010
	Cost		Fair		Unrealized			Cost		Fair		Unrealized
Description	Basis		Value		Gain (loss)			Basis		Value		Gain (loss)
Real Estate Investment Trusts	$	231,000	$	154,000	$	(77,000	)	$	197,000	$	170,000	$	(27,000	)
Mutual Funds		418,000		457,000		39,000			413,000		427,000		14,000
Other Equity Securities		532,000		523,000		(9,000	)		681,000		767,000		86,000
Total Equity Securities		1,181,000		1,134,000		(47,000	)		1,291,000		1,364,000		73,000
Debt Securities		889,000		885,000		(4,000	)		663,000		729,000		66,000
Total	$	2,070,000	$	2,019,000	$	(51,000	)	$	1,954,000	$	2,093,000	$	139,000

As of December 31, 2011, debt securities are scheduled to mature as follows:

	Cost		Fair Value
2012 – 2016	$	249,000	$	228,000
2017 – 2021	$	293,000	$	304,000
2022 – thereafter		347,000		353,000
	$	889,000	$	885,000

Net gain from investments in marketable securities for the years ended December 31, 2011 and 2010 is summarized below:

Description	2011			2010
Net realized gain from sales of marketable securities	$	130,000		$	405,000
Net unrealized loss from marketable securities		(189,000	)		(86,000	)
Total net (loss) gain from investments in marketable securities	$	(59,000	)	$	319,000

Net realized gain from sales of marketable securities consisted of approximately $212,000 of gains net of $82,000 of losses for the year ended December 31, 2011. The comparable amounts in fiscal year 2010 were gains of approximately $662,000 and losses of $257,000.

Consistent with the Company’s overall current investment objectives and activities the entire marketable securities portfolio is classified as trading (as defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles). Unrealized gains or loss of marketable securities on hand are recorded in the consolidated statements of comprehensive income.

Investment gains and losses on marketable securities may fluctuate significantly from period to period in the future and could have a significant impact on the Company’s net earnings. However, the amount of investment gains or losses on marketable securities for any given period has no predictive value and variations in amount from period to period have no practical analytical value.

Investments in marketable securities give rise to exposure resulting from the volatility of capital markets. The Company attempts to mitigate its risk by diversifying its marketable securities portfolio.