Fair value of financial instruments	3 Months Ended
Apr. 30, 2012
Fair value of financial instruments
Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]	Fair value of financial instruments. At April 30, 2012, one interest rate swap agreement was in effect with a notional value of $9 million that matures November 2013. The swap agreement, which reduces the exposure to market risks from changing interest rates, exchanges the variable rate to fixed interest rate payments of 2.23% plus LIBOR margin. The exchange-traded swap is valued on a recurring basis using quoted market prices and was classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy because the exchange is not deemed to be an active market. The derivative mark to market of $272 thousand was classified as a long-term liability on the balance sheet.

Fair value of financial instruments

3 Months Ended

Apr. 30, 2012

Fair value of financial instruments. At April 30, 2012, one interest rate swap agreement was in effect with a notional value of $9 million that matures November 2013. The swap agreement, which reduces the exposure to market risks from changing interest rates, exchanges the variable rate to fixed interest rate payments of 2.23% plus LIBOR margin. The exchange-traded swap is valued on a recurring basis using quoted market prices and was classified within Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy because the exchange is not deemed to be an active market. The derivative mark to market of $272 thousand was classified as a long-term liability on the balance sheet.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References

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+ Details