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Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments
 3 Months Ended
May 04, 2013
Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Note E. Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date or “exit price”. The inputs used to measure fair value are generally classified into the following hierarchy:

 

Level 1:    Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities
Level 2:    Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, or unadjusted quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, or inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability
Level 3:    Unobservable inputs for the asset or liability

The following table sets forth TJX’s financial assets and liabilities that are accounted for at fair value on a recurring basis:

 

In thousands

    May 4,
2013		      February 2,
2013		      April 28,
2012		  

Level 1

         

Assets:

         

Executive Savings Plan investments

    $ 114,106       $ 101,903       $ 91,391   

Level 2

         

Assets:

         

Short-term investments

    $ 238,043       $ 235,853       $ 174,872   

Foreign currency exchange contracts

      2,910         5,980         7,704   

Diesel fuel contracts

      —           3,372         3,216   

Liabilities:

         

Foreign currency exchange contracts

    $ 11,168       $ 11,874       $ 9,415   

Diesel fuel contracts

      427         —           —     

 

The fair value of TJX’s general corporate debt, including current installments, was estimated by obtaining market quotes given the trading levels of other bonds of the same general issuer type and market perceived credit quality. These inputs are considered to be Level 2. The fair value of long-term debt as of May 4, 2013 was $1.4 billion compared to a carrying value of $1.3 billion. The fair value of long-term debt as of February 2, 2013 was $911.0 million compared to a carrying value of $774.6 million. The fair value of long-term debt as of April 28, 2012 was $927.2 million compared to a carrying value of $774.5 million. These estimates do not necessarily reflect provisions or restrictions in the various debt agreements that might affect TJX’s ability to settle these obligations.

TJX’s cash equivalents are stated at cost, which approximates fair value, due to the short maturities of these instruments.

Investments designed to meet obligations under the Executive Savings Plan are invested in securities traded in active markets and are recorded at unadjusted quoted prices.

Short-term investments, foreign currency exchange contracts and diesel fuel contracts are valued using broker quotations which include observable market information. TJX does not make adjustments to quotes or prices obtained from brokers or pricing services but does assess the credit risk of counterparties and will adjust final valuations when appropriate. Where independent pricing services provide fair values, TJX obtains an understanding of the methods used in pricing. As such, these instruments are classified within Level 2.