Note 7 - Fair Value Measurements

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2016

7.	FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS

The Company’s deferred compensation liabilities were $17.7 million and $18.3 million at March 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, respectively. These liabilities are included in Accrued compensation and related benefits in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. These liabilities represent the market value of a participant’s balance in a notional investment account that is comprised primarily of mutual funds, which is based on observable market prices. However, since the deferred compensation obligations are not exchanged in an active market, they are classified as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy. Realized and unrealized gains (losses) on deferred compensation are included in operating income.

The carrying amounts and fair values of the Company’s money market investments, commercial paper and long-term debt, including current portion, as of March 31, 2016, were as follows (in thousands):

	March 3 1 , 201 6
	Carrying		Fair
	Amount		Value
Assets:
Money market investments	$	17,908	$	17,908
Commercial paper	$	79,960	$	79,965
Long-term debt, including current portion
Notes	$	450,000	$	457,875
Term Loan	$	98,125	$	98,125

Money market investments are included in Cash and cash equivalents in the Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets. Commercial paper investments with original maturities of 90 days or less are also included in Cash and cash equivalents. These investments are primarily held in U.S. Treasury securities and registered money market funds. These investments were valued using a market approach based on the quoted market prices of the commercial paper (Level 1) or inputs that include quoted market prices for investments similar to the money market investments (Level 2). The fair value of the Notes was estimated based on market prices in active markets (Level 2). The fair value of the Term Loan was estimated based on discounting the remaining principal and interest payments using current market rates for similar debt (Level 2).

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

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