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Disclosures about Fair Value of Financial Instruments
 12 Months Ended
Jan. 28, 2017
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 28,
2017		      January 30,
2016		      January 31,
2015		  

Level 1

         

Assets:

         

Executive Savings Plan investments

    $ 195,733      $ 155,847      $ 151,936  

Level 2

         

Assets:

         

Short-term investments

    $ 543,242      $ 352,313      $ 282,623  

Foreign currency exchange contracts

      6,018        28,643        39,419  

Diesel fuel contracts

      2,183        —        —  

Liabilities:

         

Foreign currency exchange contracts

    $ 7,256      $ 3,455      $ 1,942  

Diesel fuel contracts

      —        13,952        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 28, 2017 was $2.17 billion compared to a carrying value of $2.23 billion. The fair value of long-term debt at January 30, 2016 was $1.70 billion compared to a carrying value of $1.62 billion. The fair value of long-term debt at January 31, 2015 was $1.73 billion compared to a carrying value of $1.62 billion. 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.