Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2011

Cash and Cash Equivalents [Abstract]

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

2.	Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original or remaining maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. At September 30, 2011, $1.4 million of cash and cash equivalents were fully insured by the FDIC under its standard maximum deposit insurance amount guidelines. At September 30, 2011, cash and cash equivalents included $11.4 million belonging to majority-owned joint ventures consolidated in these financial statements, which generally cannot be used for purposes outside the joint ventures.

The Company includes certificates of deposit with a remaining maturity of 90 days or less at purchse in "Cash and cash equivalents." All other short-term investments are included in "Short-term investments." Mutual funds, government bonds and exchange traded funds are considered available-for-sale securities. Government bonds have maturity dates of 2014-2041. At September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010, the Company had short-term investments as follows (in thousands):

	September 30, 2011
	Total Fair Value		Level 1		Level 2		Gross Unrealized Gains (pre-tax)		Gross Unrealized Losses (pre-tax)
Mutual funds	$	29,655	$	29,655	$	--	$	265	$	65
Government bonds		20,169		--		20,169		451		8
Total securities available-for-sale	$	49,824	$	29,655	$	20,169	$	716	$	73

	December 31, 2010
	Total Fair Value		Level 1		Gross Unrealized Gains (pre-tax)		Gross Unrealized Losses (pre-tax)
Mutual funds	$	31,992	$	31,992	$	2	$	189
Exchange traded funds		3,510		3,510		13		36
Total securities available-for-sale		35,502	$	35,502	$	15	$	225
Certificates of deposit with original maturities between 90 and 365 days		250
Total short-term investments	$	35,752

The amortized cost basis of the above securities at September 30, 2011 and December 31, 2010 was $49.2 million and $35.7 million, respectively.

The valuation inputs for Levels 1, 2 and 3 are as follows:

Level 1 Inputs – Valuation based upon quoted prices for identical assets in active markets that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date.

Level 2 Inputs – Based upon quoted prices (other than Level 1) in active markets for similar assets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset such as interest rates, yield curves, volatilities and default rates and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data.

Level 3 Inputs – Based on unobservable inputs reflecting the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset based on the best information available.

The Company had no short-term investments valued with Level 3 inputs at either of the balance sheet dates.

Gains (losses) on sale of securities in the accompanying statements of operations are comprised entirely of gains and losses realized on short-term investment securities. Unrealized gains (losses) on short-term investments are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders' equity as the gains and losses may be temporary. Upon the sale of short-term investments, the average cost basis is used to determine the gain or loss. All items included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are at the corporate level, and no portion is attributable to noncontrolling interests.

For the nine months ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, the Company earned interest income of $1,252,000, and $1,268,000, respectively, on its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.