FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2011

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

4.   FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The Company utilizes the accounting guidance for fair value measurements and disclosures for all financial assets and liabilities and nonfinancial assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the condensed consolidated financial statements on a recurring basis or on a nonrecurring basis during the reporting period.  The fair value is an exit price, representing the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants based upon the best use of the asset or liability at the measurement date.  The Company utilizes market data or assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.  The accounting guidance establishes a three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value.  These tiers are defined as follows:

Level 1 – Observable inputs such as quoted market prices in active markets

Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices in active markets that are either directly or indirectly observable

Level 3 – Unobservable inputs about which little or no market data exists, therefore requiring an entity to develop its own assumptions

As of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company held certain financial assets that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis.  These consisted of the Company's investments in a Rabbi Trust which are intended to fund the Company's Supplemental Executive Retirement Plan (“SERP”) obligations and other marketable securities described below.  These are categorized as available-for-sale securities and are included as other assets in the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheets at June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010.

During 2010, the Company purchased equity securities at a purchase price of $1.2 million.  During the six months ended June 30, 2011, the Company purchased additional marketable equity securities at a purchase price of $0.1 million and invested $5.0 million in a mutual fund categorized as a fixed income available-for-sale marketable security.  As of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, these marketable securities had a fair value of $6.2 million and $1.7 million, respectively, and gross unrealized gains of $0.1 million and $0.5 million, respectively.  Such unrealized gains are included, net of tax, in accumulated other comprehensive income.  The fair value of the equity securities is determined based on quoted market prices in public markets and is categorized as Level 1.  The fair value of the fixed income securities is determined based on other observable inputs, and are therefore categorized as Level 2 in the table below.  The Company does not have any financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis categorized as Level 3, and there were no transfers in or out of Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 during the six months ended June 30, 2011 and 2010.  There were no changes to the Company's valuation techniques used to measure asset fair values on a recurring or nonrecurring basis during the six months ended June 30, 2011.

The following table sets forth by level, within the fair value hierarchy, the Company's financial assets accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis as of June 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 (dollars in thousands).

			Assets at Fair Value Using
	Total		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
As of June 30, 2011
Available-for-sale securities:
Investments held in Rabbi Trust	$	5,973	$	5,973	$	-	$	-
Marketable securities:
Publicly-traded equity securities		1,148		1,148		-		-
Fixed income securities		5,004		-		5,004		-
Total	$	12,125	$	7,121	$	5,004	$	-
As of December 31, 2010
Available-for-sale securities:
Investments held in Rabbi Trust	$	5,924	$	5,924	$	-	$	-
Marketable securities:
Publicly-traded equity securities		1,706		1,706		-		-
Total	$	7,630	$	7,630	$	-	$	-

The Level 2 fixed income securities noted in the table above represent the Company's investment in a fund that consists of debt securities (bonds), primarily U.S. government securities, corporate bonds, asset-backed securities and mortgage-backed securities.  The value of the fund is determined based on quoted market prices for similar instruments or nonbinding market prices that are corroborated by observable market data.

The Company has other financial instruments, such as cash equivalents, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses, which are not measured at fair value on a recurring basis but are recorded at amounts that approximate fair value due to their liquid or short-term nature.  The Company did not have any other financial liabilities within the scope of the fair value disclosure requirements as of June 30, 2011 or December 31, 2010.

Nonfinancial assets and liabilities, such as goodwill, indefinite-lived intangible assets and long-lived assets, are accounted for at fair value on a nonrecurring basis.   These items are tested for impairment on the occurrence of a triggering event or, in the case of goodwill, on at least an annual basis.  There were no triggering events that occurred during the six months ended June 30, 2011 or 2010 that would warrant interim impairment testing.