INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2012

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of earnings before income taxes

The components of earnings from continuing operations before income taxes are as follows:

	2012		2011		2010
Domestic operations	$	63,018	$	64,213	$	(24,843	)
Foreign operations	303,892		304,506		297,438
	$	366,910	$	368,719	$	272,595

Provisions for income taxes

The provisions for income taxes consist of the following items:
Current:
Federal, state and local	$	32,016		$	2,779	$	(3,353	)
Foreign	63,042			76,231		78,471
	95,058			79,010		75,118
Deferred:
Federal, state and local	(7,187		)	246		(3,050		)
Foreign	(1,908		)	10,266		(1,926		)
	(9,095		)	10,512		(4,976		)
	$	85,963		$	89,522	$	70,142

Reconciliation of the provisions for income taxes

A reconciliation of the provisions for income taxes follows:

	2012		2011		2010
U.S. federal statutory tax rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	35.0	%
Foreign income and withholding taxes, net of U.S. foreign tax credits	(10.9	)	(3.3	)	(2.5	)
Net unrecognized tax benefit adjustments	(0.8	)	(6.8	)	(7.7	)
Tax credits	(0.4	)	(1.0	)	(0.2	)
Other, net	0.5		0.4		1.1
Effective tax rate	23.4	%	24.3	%	25.7	%

Components of the net deferred tax asset

The components of the net deferred tax asset at July 31, are as follows: 

	2012			2011
Deferred tax asset:
Tax loss and tax credit carry-forwards	$	67,428		$	45,375
Inventories	25,331			22,476
Compensation and benefits	40,046			39,220
Environmental	4,354			5,616
Accrued expenses	29,514			27,123
Amortization	3,271			4,767
Net pensions	80,901			58,245
Other	31,688			31,393
Gross deferred tax asset	282,533			234,215
Valuation allowance	(20,536		)	(22,814		)
Total deferred tax asset	261,997			211,401
Deferred tax liability:
Amortization	(46,320		)	(12,213		)
Plant and equipment	(34,798		)	(29,222		)
Revenue recognition	(1,754		)	(5,692		)
Undistributed foreign earnings	(10,799		)	(7,270		)
Other	(2,817		)	(4,096		)
Total deferred tax liability	(96,488		)	(58,493		)
Net deferred tax asset	$	165,509		$	152,908

Deferred tax assets and liabilities, after netting by taxing jurisdiction

Deferred tax assets and liabilities in the preceding table, after netting by taxing jurisdiction, are in the following captions in the consolidated balance sheet at July 31: 

	2012			2011
Other current assets	$	80,259		$	67,140
Other non-current assets	95,182			97,767
Accrued liabilities	(1,052		)	(1,188		)
Deferred income taxes	(8,880		)	(10,811		)
Total	$	165,509		$	152,908

Summary of operating loss carryforwards

As of July 31, 2012, the Company had available tax net operating loss and tax credit carry forwards subject to expiration as follows:

Year of Expiration	Operating Losses		Tax Credits
2013	$	—	$	337
2014-2022	4,311		29,894
2023-2032	21,308		5,211
Subtotal	25,619		35,442
Indefinite	74,809		817
Total	$	100,428	$	36,259

Reconciliation of the total amounts of gross unrecognized tax benefits

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of gross unrecognized tax benefits at July 31:

	2012			2011			2010
Beginning balance	$	188,380		$	227,256		$	240,683
Increases for tax positions taken during the current year	40,413			51,327			31,645
Increases to tax positions taken in prior years	7,940			1,516			3,189
Decreases to tax positions taken in prior years	(1,945		)	(13,998		)	(31,344		)
Settlements with tax authorities	(30,475		)	(72,307		)	(6,260		)
Expiration of statutes of limitation	(4,885		)	(8,662		)	(6,785		)
Translation and other	(4,599		)	3,248			(3,872		)
Ending balance	$	194,829		$	188,380		$	227,256