Note 4 - Investment Securities

3 Months Ended

May. 30, 2015

Investments, Debt and Equity Securities [Abstract]

Investments in Debt and Marketable Equity Securities (and Certain Trading Assets) Disclosure [Text Block]

4) Investment Securities

The Company’s investment securities as of May 30, 2015 and February 28, 2015 are as follows:

(in millions)	May 30, 2015		February 28, 2015
Available-for-sale securities:
Long term	$	47.9	$	47.9
Trading securities:
Long term		52.6		49.2
Held-to-maturity securities:
Short term		76.9		110.0
Total investment securities	$	177.4	$	207.1

Auction Rate Securities

As of May 30, 2015 and February 28, 2015, the Company’s available-for-sale investment securities represented approximately $51.0 million par value of auction rate securities, consisting of preferred shares of closed end municipal bond funds, less temporary valuation adjustments of approximately $3.1 million. Since these valuation adjustments are deemed to be temporary, they are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive loss, net of a related tax benefit, and did not affect the Company’s net earnings.

U.S. Treasury Securities

As of May 30, 2015 and February 28, 2015, the Company’s short term held-to-maturity securities included approximately $76.9 million and approximately $110.0 million, respectively, of U.S. Treasury Bills with remaining maturities of less than one year. These securities are stated at their amortized cost which approximates fair value, which is based on quoted prices in active markets for identical instruments (i.e., Level 1 valuation).

Long Term Trading Investment Securities

The Company’s long term trading investment securities, which are provided as investment options to the participants of the nonqualified deferred compensation plan, are stated at fair market value. The values of these trading investment securities included in the table above are approximately $52.6 million and $49.2 million as of May 30, 2015 and February 28, 2015, respectively.