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Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2012
Cash and Cash Equivalents and Short-term Investments [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 March 31, 2012, $7.6 million of cash and cash equivalents were fully insured by the FDIC under its standard maximum deposit insurance amount guidelines. At March 31, 2012, cash and cash equivalents included $14.2 million belonging to majority-owned joint ventures consolidated in these financial statements, which generally cannot be used for purposes outside the joint ventures.
 
Short-term investments include mutual funds and government bonds which are considered available-for-sale securities and measured at fair value as required under applicable GAAP. Government bonds have maturity dates of 2014-2041. At March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, the Company had short-term investments as follows (in thousands):
 

March 31, 2012
Total
Fair
Value
Level 1
Level 2
Gross
Unrealized
Gains
(pre-tax)
Gross
Unrealized
Losses
(pre-tax)
Mutual funds
$22,925$22,925$--$230$8
Municipal bonds
20,657--20,65761434
Total securities available-for-sale
$43,582$22,925$20,657$844$42

December 31, 2011
Total
Fair
Value
Level 1
Level 2
Gross
Unrealized
Gains
(pre-tax)
Gross
Unrealized
Losses
(pre-tax)
Mutual funds
$24,851$24,851$--$383$--
Municipal bonds
20,004--20,00461715
Total securities available-for-sale
$44,855$24,851$20,004$1,000$15

The amortized cost basis of the above securities at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011 was $42.9 million and $44.3 million, respectively. Municipal bond securities are the only securities held by the Company where fair value does not equal amortized cost. The amortized cost for municipal bond securities was $20.0 million and $19.4 million at March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, 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 and losses realized on short-term investment securities are included in "Gains (losses) on sale of securities and other" in the accompanying statements of operations. Unrealized gains (losses) on short-term investments are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in stockholders' equity, net of tax, as the gains and losses may be temporary. At March 31, 2012, the unrealized gains (losses) on short-term investments included in accumulated other comprehensive income, net of taxes of $281,000, was $521,000. Upon the sale of short-term investments, the cost basis used to determine the gain or loss is based on the specific identification of the security sold. All items included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) are at the corporate level, and no portion is attributable to noncontrolling interests.
 
For the three months ended March 31, 2012 and 2011, the Company earned interest income of $353,000, and $378,000, respectively, on its cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.