4. INVESTMENTS IN MARKETABLE SECURITIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2013

Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]

INVESTMENTS IN MARKETABLE SECURITIES

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. These securities are stated at market value, as determined by the most recent 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.

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss) from investments in marketable securities for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013 and 2012 is summarized below:

	Three months ended September 30,						Nine months ended September 30,
Description	2013			2012			2013			2012
Net realized (loss) gain from sales of securities	($	15,000	)	($	12,000	)	($	7,000	)	$	55,000
Unrealized net gain in trading securities		36,000			57,000			61,000			87,000
Total net gain from investments in marketable securities	$	21,000		$	45,000		$	54,000		$	142,000

For the three months ended September 30, 2013, net realized loss from sales of marketable securities of approximately $15,000 consisting of approximately $29,000 in gross losses net of $14,000 of gross gains. For the nine months ended September 30, 2013, net realized loss from sales of marketable securities of was approximately $7,000, and consisted of approximately $52,000 of gross losses net of $45,000 of gross gains.

For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2013, net unrealized gains from trading securities were $36,000 and $61,000, respectively. This is compared to net unrealized gains of $57,000 and $87,000 for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012, respectively.

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.