Note 6 - Income Taxes (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Jun. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2012
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations before Equity Method Investments, Income Taxes, Extraordinary Items, Noncontrolling Interest	$ (17,000)	$ 2,921,000	$ 5,343,000	$ 9,217,000
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)	(225,000)	1,030,000	1,385,000	3,300,000
OtherThanTemporaryImpairmentLossesInvestmentsPortionRecognizedInEarningsNetAvailableforsaleSecuritiesTaxEffect			(1,135,000)
Other than Temporary Impairment Losses, Investments, Portion Recognized in Earnings, Net, Available-for-sale Securities	2,855,000		2,855,000
Income Tax Examination, Liability Recorded	700,000		700,000
Income Tax Examination, Liability (Refund) Adjustment from Settlement with Taxing Authority	(282,000)		(282,000)
Income Tax Examination, Interest Accrued					286,000
Income Tax Examination, Interest Expense			$ (62,000)
Effective Income Tax Rate, Continuing Operations			26.00%	36.00%

Tax effect on the impairment loss of an equity security (stock) recognized in earnings

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A ratio calculated by dividing the reported amount of income tax expense attributable to continuing operations for the period by GAAP-basis pretax income from continuing operations.

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Sum of operating profit and nonoperating income or expense before Income or Loss from equity method investments, income taxes, extraordinary items, and noncontrolling interest.

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The amount of estimated interest accrued as of the balance sheet date arising from income tax examinations.

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The sum of the current income tax expense or benefit and the deferred income tax expense or benefit pertaining to continuing operations.

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The amount of other than temporary impairment losses on investments in debt and equity securities categorized as Available-for-sale which have been recognized in earnings during the period. Such impairment losses consist of other than temporary impairments (OTTI) on equity securities, credit losses on investments in debt securities, and when the entity intends to sell an impaired debt security or it is more likely than not that the entity will be required to sell the impaired debt security before recovery of its amortized cost basis.

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