Fair Value Measurement

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurement

6. Fair Value Measurement

The Company's financial assets, measured at fair value on a recurring basis, were as follows (in thousands):

	Fair Value at September 30, 2011	Fair Value at December 31, 2010	Hierarchy
Deferred compensation plans' assets	$39,037	$36,473	Level 2
Auction-rate securities	2,066	2,516	Level 3

A Level 1 hierarchy represents a fair value that is derived from unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. A Level 2 hierarchy represents a fair value that is derived from inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. The deferred compensation plans' assets are primarily comprised of interests in limited partnerships that invest in a variety of assets including publicly traded equity securities, debt securities and privately-held companies. The general partners that manage the limited partnerships determine the fair value of the plan's investment by determining the net asset valuation in accordance with applicable accounting standards. Certain of these investments have short-term lockup provisions and redemption restrictions which require advance notice for redemption. Management does not believe that these short-term lockup provisions and redemption restrictions affect the plan's ability to transact redemptions at the net asset value. A Level 3 hierarchy represents a fair value that is derived from inputs that are unobservable or from observable inputs based on unobservable data in an inactive market. The fair value of the Company's auction-rate securities is determined from an independent third-party valuation. The primary variables used in determining fair value include collateral, rating, insurance, credit risk and downgrade risk of the security. Maturity dates for these auction-rate securities range from 2033 to 2050.

The following table presents the reconciliation of the beginning and ending fair value measurements of the Company's Level 3 assets, auction-rate securities, measured at fair value using observable inputs based on unobservable data in an inactive market for the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010 (in thousands):

		2011			2010
Beginning balance, December 31	$	2,516		$	3,529
Unrealized loss recorded in Accumulated other comprehensive loss		(126	)		(134	)
Impairment charge included in Condensed Consolidated Statement of Operations		(324	)		(35	)
Ending balance, September 30	$	2,066		$	3,360

      The Company recorded a $0.4 million and $0.3 million writedown of its auction-rate securities within Impairment of investments in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations during the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, respectively.