Auction Rate Securities (Tables)

9 Months Ended

Jul. 31, 2011

Significant Assumptions Used to Determine the Fair Value of Auction Rate Securities

The following table presents the significant assumptions used to determine the fair value of the Company’s auction rate securities at July 31, 2011 and October 31, 2010:

Assumption	July 31, 2011	October 31, 2010
Discount rates	L + 2.31% - L + 20.23%	L + 2.50% - L + 18.59%
Yields	L + 2.0% - L + 3.5%	L + 2.0% - L + 3.5%
Average expected lives	4 - 10 years	4 - 10 years

Changes in the Cost Basis and Fair Value of the Auction Rate Securities

The following table presents the changes in the cost basis and fair value of the Company’s auction rate securities for the nine months ended July 31, 2011:

		September 30,			September 30,
				Fair Value
(in thousands)	Cost Basis			(Level 3)
Balance at beginning of year	$	23,307		$	20,171
Unrealized gains		—			435
Unrealized losses		—			(458	)
Redemption of security by issuer		(5,000	)		(5,000	)
Balance at July 31, 2011	$	18,307		$	15,148