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Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments
 12 Months Ended
Jan. 31, 2015
Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Note G.    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:

 

      Fiscal Year Ended  
In thousands    January 31,
2015		      February 1,
2014		      February 2,
2013		  
                   (53 weeks)  

Level 1

         

Assets:

         

Executive Savings Plan investments

    $ 151,936       $ 131,049       $ 101,903   

Level 2

         

Assets:

         

Short-term investments

    $ 282,623       $ 294,702       $ 235,853   

Foreign currency exchange contracts

      39,419         19,482         5,980   

Diesel fuel contracts

      —         137         3,372   

Liabilities:

         

Foreign currency exchange contracts

    $ 1,942       $ 6,107       $ 11,874   

Diesel fuel contracts

      15,324         —         —   

Investments designed to meet obligations under the Executive Savings Plan are invested in registered investment companies 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’s investments are primarily high-grade commercial paper, institutional money market funds and time deposits with major banks. 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.

The fair value of TJX’s general corporate debt 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 at January 31, 2015 was $1.73 billion compared to a carrying value of $1.62 billion. The fair value of long-term debt at February 1, 2014 was $1.34 billion compared to a carrying value of $1.27 billion. The fair value of long-term debt at February 2, 2013 was $911.0 million compared to a carrying value of $774.6 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.