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Cash Equivalents and Investments

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2012

5. Cash Equivalents and Investments

Cash equivalents consist principally of commercial paper, funds holding only U.S. government obligations, and money market funds, with maturities of three months or less when purchased. As of March 31, 2012, a portion of the Company's cash accounts was concentrated at a single financial institution, which potentially exposes the Company to credit risks. The financial institution has generally "stable" credit ratings and its short-term credit rating is A-1 by Standard & Poor's ratings services. The Company has not experienced any losses related to such accounts and does not believe that there is significant risk of non-performance by the financial institution. The Company's cash on deposit at this financial institution is fully liquid, and the Company continually monitors the credit ratings of the institution and limits the amount of cash it maintains at this institution.

Short-term investments generally consist of commercial paper and have maturities of more than three months and less than one year when purchased. These short-term investments are expected to be held-to-maturity and are classified as such in the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements.

The carrying amounts of the Company's instruments classified as cash equivalents and short-term investments are stated at amortized cost, which approximates fair value because of their short-term maturity. As of March 31, 2012 and December 31, 2011, short-term investments included $9.5 million and $14.5 million in commercial paper, respectively, and are considered Level 2 inputs within the fair value hierarchy.

If a decline in fair value below the amortized cost basis of an investment is judged to be other-than-temporary, the cost basis of the investment is written down to fair value. For those investments for which the fair value of the investment is less than its amortized cost, the credit-related portion of other-than-temporary impairment losses is recognized in earnings while the noncredit-related portion is recognized in other comprehensive income, net of related taxes. The Company does not intend to sell such investments, if any, and it is more likely than not that it will not be required to sell such investments prior to the recovery of its amortized cost basis less any current period credit losses. During the first quarter of fiscal 2012 and the first quarter of 2011, the Company did not write-down any investment balances.